Past Ghosts
by le faye storyteller
Summary: Complete! All Human AU. After finally having enough of her abusive father, Buffy Summers runs away to L.A. Certain circumstances force her back to Sunnydale years later, and she must deal with facing the people she left behind and a sinister stranger that
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey, people! Do any of you still remember I exist? Sorry about the long gap after my last story, but look! – I'm writing again! This is totally a WIP, so I'm writing and updating as fast as I can; but, please, be kind and excuse me if you don't see an update for a while. I hope I can get through the whole thing! Thanks in advance to everyone who's taking an interest in this, and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimers: If I really owned Buffy and Co., do you really think I would be here writing fanfic about them? (yes, probably, but that's not the point) Anyways, not mine, don't sue – I fear you guys.

Summary: All Human AU. After finally having enough of her abusive father, Buffy Summers runs away to L.A. Certain circumstances force her back to Sunnydale years later, and she must deal with facing the people she left behind and a sinister stranger that threatens her life.

Rating: PG-13 for language and minor violence. You have been warned ...

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T Others uncertain

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yeah, I'm a feedback whore, and I'm man – er, woman – enough to admit it!

* * *

"But you can't just leave, Buffy," Willow exclaimed. The fifteen-year-old redhead stared incredulously at her friend. 

"I have to, Wills. It's for the best," Buffy explained absent-mindedly as she checked her supplies once again.

Willow racked her mind desperately for a way to deter her strong-willed friend from her plans. "What about Dawn?" she asked, referring to her friend's 12-year-old sister.

"I'm going _for_ Dawnie. We can't stay with Hank any longer and I have to get away from here."

The blonde immediately picked up on her friend's hurt and rushed to reassure her. "Of course I don't want to leave you and all my friends, Will, but … I dunno …" She trailed off, frustrated.

"It's o.k. Buff, I get it." Willow smiled lightly. "But you really could always just stay with me," she suggested hopefully. "It's not like Mom and Dad would ever notice." This was relatively true. Willow's parents were rarely home. Their job kept them busily traveling, so the redhead was often left alone.

Buffy grinned wryly. "Thanks, but I gotta do this. Could you let Dawnie stay for a while, though? It'll only be until I can settle..."

"Of course. Hey, mi casa es su casa," she quoted with a nervous giggle.

Willow suddenly found herself encased in a rib-crushing hug. "I'm going to miss you so much, Willow!"

"Air … becoming … issue," Willow gasped with a small grin.

"Sorry" Buffy said sheepishly, letting go of her friend.

"No big," the redhead answered with a smile. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Hey, you always said I was way too dramatic, maybe I'll get "discovered" in L.A.," Buffy joked.

She walked over to her sleeping sister and kissed her forehead gently. "Bye, Dawnie," she whispered.

Then she prepared to leave.

"You sure you want to do this?" Willow called out as Buffy limbed back out the window.

"Yeah." The reply drifted back. "Say good-bye to the gang for me!"

With that, Buffy took off running down the street, feeling strangely light, yet weighed down at the same time with one thought on her mind …

_Good-bye Sunnydale, L.A., here I come!

* * *

_

And being the great person that I am, I've left you the next chapter, too! C'mon take a look …


	2. Time Cannot Erase

A/N: Just a note I forgot to mention in the prologue, the rating's just for safety. I do deal briefly with child abuse, but nothing explicit. Don't worry, the story won't be a complete angst-fest.

Hope you like …

* * *

_5 years later. . ._

"Shit!" Buffy Summer's cursed as she fumbled for her cell phone. She had been expecting a call from her manager, and was impatient to hear what news the woman had to give her.

She located the phone and flipped it open just in time to hear Anya Jenkins bellow at her, "You never told me you had a father!"

Buffy raised her eyebrow in surprise and amusement. "I sorta assumed that was understood –"

Anya cut her off with the beginning of a long rant," No! You never said you had a father who was in jail, and is currently dead. And what more –"

It became Buffy's turn to interrupt Anya as she processed that last bit of information. "Wait. What? Hank's dead?"

"Yes," her manager replied in an impatient tone, "dead. As in no longer living. Now …"

Buffy didn't hear anything else as her thoughts drifted back to Sunnydale …

_Flashback_

_She ran as fast a she could, hoping that she would get home before her father did. _

_It was all her fault. She hadn't paid attention to the time, and the play rehearsal had run late … she hoped Dawnie was alright._

_Rounding the corner, she ran up the walkway, but jerked to a halt just before entering, remembering to open the door quietly in case Hank really was there._

_As she slipped in, she heard a muffled scream and then a crash from the living room. An icy cold dread crept over Buffy as she dropped everything and ran towards the noise, dreading what she would find._

_What she saw made her angry enough to forget her own safety and any rational thought. Dawn was curled up in a corner, already beaten and bruised, while Hank continued to rain harsh blows on her._

_Before Buffy realized what she was doing, she had picked up a vase – one that somehow managed to survive Hank's many drunken rampages – and crept up behind her father, smashing it on the back of his head …_

_End Flashback_

"Buffy!" Anya's harsh call brought her back to the present. "Are you even listening to me!"

"Sorry, Ahn. I spaced. What were you saying?"

Anya huffed noisily, but repeated her words, "I was _saying_ that you should go back to your hometown – Sunnydale? – and hold a funeral for him. Or at least attend the funeral."

Buffy frowned. "Wait. What? Hank's funeral?"

Her manager sighed impatiently again. "Where is your mind today, Buffy? Yes, Hank, your deceased father, remember?"

"No way am I holding a funeral for that bastard! You know my history!"

"What would the public think," Anya asked, referring to the many fans the now-famous blonde actress had, "if you won't even hold a funeral for your own father?"

"I don't care _what_ the people think! I'm not doing anything for that abusive jerk – even if he is dead!" Buffy exclaimed. "No one would attend the funeral anyways," she added as an afterthought.

Anya knew her friend and client well enough to know that this was not her only issue. "When was the last time you spoke to anyone in Sunnydale?"

_Flashback_

_Once Hank had collapsed, Buffy forgot about him, and went to Dawn – who was still shivering, scooping her into a protective embraced. "I'm sorry, Dawnie … I came as quickly as I could," Buffy cried for her sister._

_This was what she had been afraid of. Hank had never hit Dawn before, generally preferring to ignore her, except to tell her she was worthless. It had always been Buffy, that he had hurt – and she had learned to deal with it. But Dawnie …_

_Buffy forced herself to stop crying as she reached a decision about what to do. She made sure her sister had no broken bones and told Dawnie to get ready to go to Willow's._

_She herself had ran upstairs and thrown a few essential thing into a backpack. Dawn was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs, and when she saw her sister come down, she pointed to the living room, "Buffy, look …"_

_Buffy looked at her father's inert form. There was blood on the back of his head. _Oh, god, I didn't kill him, did I? _was her first thought. Horrified, she whispered to Dawn the first reassuring thing that popped into her mind, "It's OK, Dawnie. I'll come back and deal with it later."_

_Then, the two walked out the door, and Buffy unknowingly began the path that would lead her away from Sunnydale._

_End Flashback_

Buffy knew better than to lie to Anya. "Not since I left," she admitted.

"Buff, you can't avoid them forever. They're still your family, you know?" Anya asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I know. It's just been so long …"

Anya grew chipper once more, "Good. It's settled. I'll arrange you flight to Sunnydale, and get things in order for the funeral."

Buffy started. "What! I didn't agree to that!"

"You have to, Buffy. People will find out that your father died, and then they'll want to know why you didn't attend his funeral and why you're so separated from whatever relatives you have. And I know how hard you've tried to keep your history and your family out of your whole acting career, so you wouldn't want reporters digging up the past …" Anya stopped, knowing that she had made a point that her mulish friend couldn't argue with.

Buffy fumed, also knowing that she had lost, "That's low, Anya."

"But true," the manager quipped, not the least bit upset. "I'm only watching out for you and your career."

"Yeah, and all the money you make by representing me," the blonde joked, knowing that Anya really did care about her.

Anya smiled, even though she knew Buffy couldn't see. "Why, Buffy, I'm shocked that you would think I only care about the money," she said in mock distress.

"Right, whatever," came the retort, accompanied by a laugh. After a pause, Anya heard Buffy groan, "You really sure I have to do this?"

The young manager remained firm. "Yes, you really have to," she replied. "Look, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, 'k?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, "bye, Ahn."

"Bye."

Buffy closed her cell phone and groaned again.

If she really went through with this, the next few weeks would be _very_ interesting …

* * *

Now press that pretty blue button in the corner and tell me what you think … 

le faye


	3. I Know You're Still There

Disclaimer: Ha! I wish. But, nope, B:tVS belongs to Joss and ME. Oh, and chappie titles for the most part come from Evanescence lyrics.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence, minor child abuse. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T Others uncertain

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: DEFINITELY! Reviewers are the best!

Previously:Buffy, now a famous actress, has agreed to return to Sunnydale for her not-quite-so-loving father's funeral …

* * *

The petite blonde woman stood in the parking lot, impatiently pushing a few strands of hair away from her slight flushed face as she glance around at the apparently deserted building. She readjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder and walked resignedly towards the minivan that was to be her ride. 

_I _could_ have taken a private jet and been driven around in a limo, but no, I just _had_ to travel alone and 'normally,'_ Buffy thought wryly as she loaded the van with her possessions.

Perhaps some underlying wish of getting back in touch with her life in Sunnydale had led Buffy to decide to take this trip as any other average citizen would.

oOoOo

Earlier that morning …

Buffy had been woken at – in her opinion – an entirely ungodly hour by a knock and a yell at her apartment door.

After several minutes of loud banging, she decided that it couldn't be ignored, so threw on a robe and stumbled blindly to answer the calls.

Yanking the door open, she discovered an entirely-too-cheerful Anya smiling brightly at her. "Morning, Buff. Ready to go?"

Ever so eloquently, Buffy mumbled, "Wha'?"

Anya frowned. "You forgot your flight leaves this morning didn't you? And you made me promise to drag myself out of bed early and send you to the airport when I could have put this time to good use by making myself more money!"

She continued her lecture as Buffy stumbled back into the apartment, mumbling something about the 'high rent' and 'you think when you pay so much, security or someone would keep people from visiting this early.'

Unfortunately, Anya hear her and answered, "Geesh, Buffy, you really are a grump in the mornings. I keep telling you, you need to get an orgasm buddy. You'll be much happier and satisfied everyday."

Buffy just turned bright red and groaned. Years of knowing Anya still had not made her immune to the older girl's blunt way of speaking.

Anya was oblivious, and continued to rush her friend. "Come on! You don't want to be late for this flight …" she said as she pushed Buffy into the bathroom.

oOoOo

After much yelling and pushing, the two finally managed to get to the car and start the short drive to the airport.

On the way, Anya told Buffy what information she had gathered. "'K. From what I know, you father died in a car crash a week or so after he was released from jail. His body was barely identifiable, so there won't be a whole open-casket thing. The actual funeral is planned for a couple days from now."

"Who do you actually expect to attend the thing?" Buffy asked, worried.

"It'll be fine. This funeral is set up through a church, so at the least, there'll always be some sympathetic people who want to mourn with you. Or, there'll just be crazy people who like funerals."

Buffy glanced at Anya, and said with sarcasm, "Right. _That_ makes me feel so much better."

"You really should invite your old friends."

The younger blonde's face suddenly grew solemn. "I haven't seen them in 5 years, Ahn. Do they even still know me? And another thing – it feels weird, that this whole trip just a publicity thing to show that I 'care' about someone I don't actually care about."

"First of all, the whole world knows you now. And, you really do need to go back to Sunnydale. Maybe not exactly for Hank, but at least to get in touch with your family there. I find it very sad that I'm your only friend. I mean, what would you do if I died someday?" Anya asked earnestly.

Buffy rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I don't know, Ahn. I don't know …"

oOoOo

At the airport, as the girls were parting …

"You won't be able to survive without your own personal flight attendant and chauffeur," Anya had said with a straight face.

"I haven't become _that_ spoiled," Buffy huffed. "I'll be fine."

"If you say so …" And before Buffy could answer, she continued, "You have your flight ticket, when you get to Sunnydale, go to the car rental. You should have a sedan under the name 'Buffy Summers.' I actually remembered not to use 'Elizabeth Summers!' Wasn't that …

_Flashback_

_Buffy had walked just beyond Sunnydale town boundaries, and now she stood by the side of the road, sticking out her thumb once in a while, hoping to catch a ride._

_Eventually, a large battered pick-up truck stopped, revealing a plain and muscled woman._

"_Hey, kid, where ya headed?"_

"_Anywhere but here," Buffy answered seriously._

_The woman's mouth twisted into a lopsided grin. "Ha. Sticking with the classics? All right, I'll give you a ride. What's yer name, kid?"_

_Buffy thought about it for a minute. She really wasn't 'Buffy' anymore; this was a new life. "Elizabeth," she finally answered. "Elizabeth Summers."_

"_O.K., Elizabeth, hop in ..."_

_It became second nature to Buffy to use her new alias. Naturally, it was the name she gave the world when she became well known. 'Buffy' was stored away to be buried beneath the dust along with the rest of Sunnydale._

_End Flashback_

… make sure you have your ticket and everything else you need." Anya finished her extensive set of instructions.

Not about to admit that she couldn't do this by herself, Buffy smiled and answered, "Yes, 'mother.' I got it. Now stop worrying."

Making sure that everything was ready, the girls hugged briefly, and then parted.

Even though the flight to Sunnydale was short, it had felt like a miserable eternity to the young star. Buffy had realized, with some surprise, that this was her first economy-class flight. And for the duration of the journey, she had been seated in a narrow seat between a loudly snoring lady, and a man who kept elbowing her.

To make matters worse, she was directly in front of a boy who wouldn't stopkicking the back of her seat. She was just about to lose her temper and turn around to yell at the toddler when she noticed the large and protective woman sitting next to him, glaring menacingly at her.

After that, all she could do was sit still and count the seconds until the flight was over. She was quite proud of herself for nearly making it to a million before she lost track.

She had never felt more relieved than when the flight ended. Buffy got off the plane as quickly as she could, but in her haste to leave, she had gotten lost in the airport.

It took her nearly half an hour to find car rentals, and when she got there, Buffy found that a minivan, not a sedan, had somehow been reserved under her name. Losing the argument with the clerk, she had no other option but to take the car.

_God, I hope I don't kill anything_, she thought as she began her drive.

Needing nothing more than a good cup of coffee right now, Buffy decided to drive around town and see how much had changed in the past few years. Not surprisingly, the small town was almost exactly as she had left it. She was glad to see that the Espresso Pump, once one of her favorite hangouts, was still open.

Buffy managed to find a parking space, and then proceeded to walk in the shop. As she pushed through the doors, she thought she caught a glimpse of a familiar red-colored head.

_No, it isn't …_ Buffy thought with amazement as she tuned her head for a better look, _… Willow? _

She looked at the pair of girls laughing and chatting at a table.

… _and Dawn?

* * *

_

Tell me to continue … or something …

le faye


	4. Do You Remember Me?

A/N: Thanks so much to DGtek-CrazyaboutAngel, paige, funkydevil206, BAforever, and noxpuella for your encouragement and reviews!

Disclaimer: I steal away his characters sometimes, but Joss always finds out and makes me return them. Pouts. Anyways, not mine, people.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence, previously minor child abuse. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T Others uncertain

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: DEFINITELY! Reviewers are the best!

Previously: Buffy arrives in Sunnydale and spies some familiar faces ...

* * *

"… so then, he actually _ate_ the thing just to prove that he wasn't 'chicken.'" 

Both girls burst into peals of laughter as Dawn finished another one of her stories about her high school classmates' antics.

Sudden, the teenager fell silent. "Don't look now, Willow - "

Willow turned around and looked.

Dawn rolled her eyes and continued, " – that blonde girl standing by the door has been staring at us. Do you know her?"

Willow's mouth opened and closed like a fish's as she looked towards the door. "Dawnie …"

"Yeah?" Dawn asked with slight impatience.

"That's Buffy …"

Dawn eyed Willow sharply, then turned to stare more closely at the blonde. "That can't be Buffy. We haven't seen her in, like, five years. Ever since she just _left_."

The girl sounded bitter.

"No, Dawn, that _is_ her. I'm going to go talk to her." Willow put on her resolve face and began to get up.

"No, Wills, don't …"

But Willow had already set off towards the stranger.

oOoOo

Buffy had been frozen in place, unable to stop staring at her sister and her best friend. _Wow. They look so happy._

Lost in thought, she hadn't seen Willow approach her until it was too late. As soon as she noticed, she began to move away quickly as she could, not feeling ready to face her friend quite yet.

"Buffy?"

Upon hearing her name, she froze and turned slightly. That was the only signal her childhood best friend needed.

Buffy suddenly found herself engulfed in a big bear hug. "Ohmigosh, Buffy where have you been for the last five years? You look so different! We were so worried about you after you left and then so much happened and like a year ago we thought we saw you on TV 'cause we know you went to LA to maybe start acting but we weren't sure it was you … and I'm babbling aren't I? You can stop me. And … Ohmigosh! …"

Willow finally ran out of breath and dwindled to a stop.

Buffy smiled tentatively. She couldn't believe how good it felt to talk to her friend again. "I … I missed you, Wills."

Willow pulled back and gave a small grin. "I can't believe your back. Why are you here, anyways?"

In the back of her mind, Buffy briefly wondered how it was so easy to become friends with Willow again. She could almost feel herself fall back into her old place in Sunnydale. _But, then again, Willow was always the sweetest and most accepting of all of us,_ she thought.

She brought herself back to the present, just in time to hear Willow tell her to come sit with Dawnie and her.

oOoOo

Dawn watched from the table as Willow called out Buffy's name, then hugged the stranger. _That can't be Buffy. She doesn't dress – or look – like that. Where's my sister?_

She watched as the pair began moving towards her.

oOoOo

Buffy looked at the girl who sat at the coffee table, staring at her with cold eyes. As they approached her, Dawn swished her long hair and glanced away from the pair.

Buffy halted nervously by her sister, unsure of what to do.

Willow, sensing the suddenly palpable tension between her two friends, laughed nervously, and said haltingly, "H-hey, Dawnie, g-g-guess what? Buffy's come back to stay for a while. Isn't that great?"

_What do you say to someone after being gone for so long, without any word? _Buffy forced her lips into a shake grin and tried, "Hi, Dawn." Inside, she mentally berated herself, _Yeah, that was great._

Dawn ignored Buffy. "Yeah, great, Wills. Hey, I suddenly remembered that I promised a friend I would meet up with her later. I'll see you at home, 'k?"

And before either of the older girls could answer, Dawn got up and left.

As she watched her younger sister walk out the door, Buffy sat down and buried her face in her hands. "She hates me, doesn't she?"

Willow gave her friend a small one-armed hug. "Give her some time, Buff," she said sympathetically. "She might be a little mad, but Dawnie still loves you."

Buffy looked up. "Thanks, Wills. You're the bestest. I surprised you don't hate me, too."

"I couldn't hate you. You're still my best friend. Now, c'mon, where are you staying – no, wait, don't answer that. Stay with us," Willow insisted.

"What? I could just stay in a motel or something."

"No, you're family. And, technically, it's your house. Now, come on." Willow tugged on Buffy's hand.

Unable to resist her friend's enthusiasm, Buffy let herself be dragged away …

oOoOo

Buffy found out that Willow and Dawnie had moved into 1630 Revello Drive. And, "a bunch of other people," to quote Willow, also lived there. But most were away for the weekend.

She couldn't believe how different her former home looked. _It probably the lack of beer bottles littering the ground_, she thought wryly.

The two friends had a quick dinner. Midway through, Dawn had ran into the house and stomped up to her room, shouting out a quick negative when Willow asked herif she was hungry.

Buffy, still not quite sure how to get Dawn to reaccept her, and suddenly feeling guilty, claimed tiredness.

"Oh! Gosh. 'Course you tired. You must have had a long day with the traveling and all. I should've sent you to a room right away." Willow responded, feeling bad for not thinking of it right away.

"No, I'm OK, Wills, just a long day, you know?" Buffy rubbed her eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Yeah." Willow arrived at a room. "Here. You can stay here for now."

Buffy glanced around. The former guest bedroom was now covered with posters of punk rockers and 80s bands. Most of the décor was in black.

"Wow. Does someone live here, now?"

Willow nodded. "But he comes and goes, so it doesn't matter if you use his room."

"'K. Thanks, Willow."

"Yup. But tomorrow, young lady, you are going to get up bright and early and tell me everything that's happened." Willow ruined the effect of her mock sternness with a silly smile.

"Aye-aye, capt'n." Buffy saluted, then fell onto the bed in giggles.

"'Night, Buff."

"'Night, Willow."

Buffy changed quickly, snuggled in under the heavy blankets, promptly fell asleep . . .

oOoOo

… and woke up to the feeling of the mattress shift and sag. Her mind still foggy with sleep, she opened her eyes to see a dark silhouetted figure sitting on the edge of the bed.

Immediately awake, Buffy sat up and panicked. She screamed in surprise and swung her fist at the man (she now realized), knocking him off the bed. In the dim light, she could see the intruder holding his nose, and cursing fluently. By this time, Buffy had rolled out of bed, and was prepared to attack the man with the dangerous weapon – a flyswatter – that she had grabbed hold of.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Willow – who had been woken by her scream – stumble into the room, just in time to see Buffy repeatedly whacking the bleached-blonde stranger with her flyswatter as he tried to shield his head and inch away.

Willow blinked a couple times to make sure she was still seeing correctly. "Buffy! What are you doing! Stop hitting Spike with that fly-swatting thingy!"

Buffy heard Willow, and was surprised enough to freeze for a minute, turning to her friend and asking incredulously, "You know this guy?"

During the lull in – at least according to Spike – 'The Attack of the Blonde Psycho Lady,' he had taken the opportunity to pluck the flyswatter out of Buffy's hand. Spike now answered for Willow, "'Course she knows me, you crazy chit! I bloody well live here! An' this is my room that you're sleeping in."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of Spike's indignant retort, Dawn had wandered into the room. Now, as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, she saw the platinum blonde, and promptly launched herself into his arms with a high-pitched squeal.

"Spike! When did you get back! Ohmigosh! Where did you go? How was it? Did ya bring me presents? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

This immediately launched the beginning of several different conversations.

"Willow, why was this guy …"

"Yeah, I brought you presents, Bit ..."

"Spike, why'd you climb through your window …"

"Willow! Answer my question …"

"Sorry, Red, I lost my house key …"

"Again!"

"Ohmigosh! So much has happened since you left, Spike …"

"Wait, Bit. Give me a minute to suss things out first, 'k?"

"Wills! What's going on!"

"Yeah, Red, who is this loopy bint that you gave my room to?"

"What! I am _not_ a 'loopy bint,' you … you bleach-head!"

"Ha! Takes one to know one!"

Gasp. "I so do not dye my hair!"

"Oh, please …"

Willow could feel a headache coming as the two blondes forgot her entirely and became more wrapped up in their fight. She saw that the usually mature brunette teenager was not going to be any help as she was watching the argument with great interest. Taking a deep breath, the redhead yelled, "QUIET!"

It was almost comical to see the occupants of the room halt mid-motion and turned to Willow. "Stop bickering like three-year-olds and I'll explain everything."

She looked around to make sure she had everyone's attention. "Good. Now, Buffy, remember William?"

"Yeah …"

_Flashback_

_4-year-old Buffy bounced up and down with excitement, standing eagerly by the window, waiting. Today was special. It was the beginning of summer, and that meant that her friend, William, was back. _

"Mommy, when's he gonna get here?"

_Joyce smiled patiently at her daughter. "Soon, honey. Remember, William only flew in from England yesterday. He needs time to rest."_

_Buffy pouted. "But he promised that he would come play with me today. I haven't seen him in a really long time!"_

_For the majority of the year, William lived with his grandparents in England. But summers were spent with his dad in Sunnydale._

"_Yes, sweetie, but Mr. Giles said William could come only if he was rested. Now, be patient -"_

_The rest of her explanation was cut off as the doorbell rang._

_Young Buffy jumped up, making her pigtails swing, as she yelled, "He's here! He's here!"_

_Joyce shook her head, smiling. She opened the door to reveal a young boy with a puff of curly brown hair and glasses. He smiled happily, revealing a few gaps in his teeth. "'Lo, Mrs. Summers."_

"_Hello, William. My, how you've grown!" She greeted. "Why don't you come in? Buffy's been waiting for you all day."_

_As Joyce stepped aside, Buffy jumped forward and hugged William tightly. Then she let go and took hold of his hand, tugging him upstairs. "C'mon, Will-yum! Let's go. Willow and Xander are coming later, too. Wanna see my new toys …"_

_Joyce smiled as the two kids ran away. Suddenly aware of a presence behind her, she turned around to see an older version of William with less hair, more teeth, and wearing a tweed suit. "Hello, Rupert! How are you?"_

"_Good morning, Joyce. I'm doing very well, thank you."_

"_Well, come in."_

_Giles stepped inside and glanced up the stairs. "Those two get along nicely, don't they?"_

_Joyce also looked towards the stairs. "Yeah, they do. Almost perfectly …"_

_End Flashback_

"… what about William?"

Spike cut in, shaking his head and sighing with mock sorrow. "Breaks my heart – you don't even recognize an old friend, luv."

Buffy's eyes widened comically. "Him!" she squeaked, pointing her finger. "_You're_ William!"

"No, luv, I'm Spike." He explained as if talking to a small child.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "What kind of idiot name is Spike? And I am _not_ your 'love!'"

Willow, sensing another fight, quickly interfered again. "Look, everyone, it's late. Why don't we all go to sleep and we'll figure this out in the morning.

Buffy glared at Spike. "Fine," she said stiffly, flopping back down on the bed.

"Hey! Hold on. What're you doing? That's my bed!"

"Not for tonight." Buffy smirked triumphantly.

"Please, Spike," Willow's lower lip began to push out.

"Fine, but only because she's contaminated the bed, anyways," he groused, then in a quieter voice, " … bloody women."

Willow hustled Spike out of the room while he carried Dawn since she had drifted off somewhere in the middle of all this. With another 'good night' she closed the bedroom door behind her.

Buffy snuggled back into the bed, thoughts of her past haunting her mind.

* * *

Reviews and feedback make the world go 'round. My sad little world, at least … 

le faye


	5. Standing in the Doorway

Disclaimer: Not mine. All Joss'. Chapter titles are Evanescence lyrics.

A/N: Thanks so much to DGtek-CrazyaboutAngel, paige, funkydevil206, AvidTVViewer, and msberry for your encouragement and reviews!

Summary: Buffy returns to Sunnydale for her father's funeral, and has gotten in touch with some old friends in the meantime.

* * *

_Ring. Ring._

Buffy groaned and rolled over to reach for her alarm clock, only to be reminded that she was far from her L.A. apartment when she fell out of bed.

Landing with a _thump_, she detangled herself from the bed sheets and searched the foreign room for the source of the annoying ring.

Her gaze fell on the cell phone on the nightstand. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Buffy reached up and answered it.

"'ello," she mumbled.

"Morning, Buffy," the voice she knew all too well drifted over from the other end.

"Ahhh! You're doing this just to torture me, aren't you? That's two mornings in a row, Ahn," Buffy accused.

"Sorry, nope. The Buffy-torture's just an added bonus," Anya answered in a chipper tone.

"Ugh! Fine, what now?" Buffy knew that very little fazed or offended her expressive friend. It was one of Ahn's best and worst qualities.

"Just calling to remind you that the funeral is tomorrow," Anya explained.

"Yeah," Buffy sighed, "I remember."

"Good." Anya answered, then immediately switched to a different subject. " You know you're not where you're supposed to be, Buffy? I tried calling your hotel first, but the front desk said you never checked in."

"Oh! Yeah, I'm staying with a friend."

"A friend? Like a friend from before your running away thing? Or like an orgasm-buddy friend that you just met and decided to copulate with?"

"What! You know I wouldn't do that! Definitely the first one." Buffy decided that Anya was a scary force to deal with in the morning.

"Hey! That's great … but you said you weren't going to see anyone you knew."

"I was going to be avoidy-girl, but then I ran into Willow, and … things weren't as bad as I thought they would be."

"Ha! I told you so."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fine, you were right."

"'Course I was … listen, I just wanted to check in with you – make sure it was all going OK. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye, Buff."

Buffy hung up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. _Argh. It's only 6:30._

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to try to get more sleep, Buffy took a quick shower and got dressed. Then she went downstairs.

Hearing someone shuffling around, Buffy bounced into the kitchen, expecting to see Willow. Instead …

"Oh, its you."

Spike half turned and glanced at her. "Good mornin' to you, too, luv."

He stepped out from behind the refrigerator door, revealing the fact that he was only clad in a pair of jeans. Buffy felt her mouth become dry as she stared at his well-muscled upper body and wondered …

_Whoa. Where did that come from?_

She shook her head to clear the lusty thoughts as she realized that Spike had spoken to her.

"Wha'?"

"I said, you never use' to like gettin' up so early. I 'membered."

"Oh, yeah, a friend decided to give me a wake-up call … not much with the sleep-age after that," She answered dismissively as she sat down at a counter stool. "You didn't like getting up early either."

"As I recall, a certain _someone_ decided to hijack my bed and make me sleep on the lumpy couch."

Buffy blushed, but returned his gaze defiantly. "Not my fault I beat you to it." She abruptly changed the subject. "What're you making?"

"Breakfas'." Spike saw her hungry look, and decided to take pity on her. "Want some?"

Buffy nodded eagerly. The two lapsed into a laden silence before Buffy ventured, "Are you … still mad at me?"

Spike glanced at her curiously. "For wha', pet?"

_Flashback _

_William glanced at his friend with worry as he cleaned her wounds. "He did this to you, didn' he?" _

_Buffy refused to meet his gaze. "What're you talking about, Will? I fell," she answered stubbornly._

_"Right, you fell and got a black eye an' split you lip," Will began to grow angry. "'M not blind, Buffy. Why won' you tell anyone?"_

_She flinched, and he immediately felt a pang of regret for yelling. "'M sorry. 'M jus' worried 'bout you," he said contritely._

_Buffy smiled as best as she could. "I know, Will." She hopped off the sink counter and gave her friend a hug. "But I can take care of myself."_

_Will pulled back to look his friend in the face. "You know, you can always tell my da' –"_

"_No," the blonde girl said sharply. "I'm fine, so drop it, ok?"_

"_Fine," Will answered tightly, his face clouded with irritation and concern._

"_It's only worse in the summer 'cause I'm around more. It'll get better when school starts."_

_"If you say so, Buff."_

_End Flashback_

After that, their arguments over this subject had grown more heated, until William left for England at the end of the summer, refusing to talk to Buffy.

Buffy shrugged. "Dunno. For … before, for me leaving. Just …" She trailed off.

"I never could've stayed angry at you for long. You know tha', luv. Might've regret that we parted wi'out sussin' everything out, though," Spike answered.

He set a plate of pancakes in front of her, and the pair chewed in thoughtful silence for a few moments. Buffy took the time to study Spike. She took in his chiseled face and bleached blonde locks. Suddenly, he noticed her perusal.

"Wha'?" He questioned. "Do I 'ave pancake batter on my nose or somethin'?"

Buffy ignored his attempt at levity, and said solemnly, "You've changed."

He looked at her curiously. "Yeah, people tend to do tha', pet. You're not exactly the same as before, either."

"Yeah, but you're like a completely new person. What happened to make -"

Willow suddenly stepped into the room, cutting off Buffy's inquiries. "Morning, you two."

"Morning, Wills."

"Morning, Red." Spike stood up.

"Spike, put a shirt on. You're going to catch a cold that way." Willow admonished after glancing at her friend.

"Yes, 'mum,'" Spike replied with a smirk.

Willow grinned and stick her tongue out, stealing a bit of Spike's pancake.

Buffy smiled at their childish behavior.

After a few moments, Spike got up. "'M goin' ta get dressed an'make sure Bit actually gets up in time for school today."

He left the room, and Buffy heard him pound up the stairs a few moments later.

"Hey, sleep OK?" Willow asked her friend.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, felt at home."

"I don't have any classes today. Do you have time for some quality girl-bonding?"

"Yup, sure. All for the girl-bonding-ness."

"Great! We could hit the mall, then tonight the gang could go bronzing. Plus, I'm guessing you haven't talked to Xander yet."

"Oh! Yeah, can't wait to see him."

Willow sat down with her own plate of pancakes. "Un-huh. But now, you promised to tell me what you've been up to, so spill, missy."

Buffy grimaced. "You sure you don't want to tell me what you've been doing instead?"

"Nuh-uh." Willow shook her head for emphasis. "You promised."

Buffy began. "Right. 'K. So you remember when I left?"

Willow nodded.

"Well, I managed to get a ride to L.A., and there I found this seedy diner place where they were willing to hire anyone without asking questions …"

Buffy gave Willow an account of what had happened in the last 5 years. In short, Buffy had worked at the diner for the first two years until she legally became an adult. After the first few months, she had managed to save enough money to rent a place to live. Once she became legal, she found a different job singing in a nightclub. There, she met Anya, who liked her voice, and offered her a chance at a show-biz career …

"… and, Wills, remember yesterday when you said you thought you saw me on T.V. once?"

"Yeah …"

"Well, that sorta, might've actually been me," Buffy admitted, avoiding Willow's eyes.

The redhead gaped at her friend. After a lengthy silence: "No. Way."

"Um, yeah …"

Willow suddenly came to life, jumping up with a squeal and hugging her friend. "Wow! I can't believe you're famous! I am so happy for you …" Here, she pulled back and looked at Buffy for a moment. "You are happy, right?"

Buffy quickly assured her friend that she was, and Willow went back to being bouncy and congratulating.

A voice cut into the friends' conversation. "So were you too busy being a 'star' to remember what you left behind?"

Buffy glanced at the kitchen doorway. "Dawnie - "

"No!" Dawn said sharply. "You don't get to 'Dawnie' me and expect me to listen to you ... I'll see you later, Wills."

Dawn pushed out the backdoor furiously.

Willow put a hand on her friend's arm to prevent her from going after her sister. "Give she some time, Buff. She took it really hard when you left. Somehow, Dawn knew you had gone when she woke up, and she kept repeating something about a promise …"

Flashback 

_The 8-year-old held her little sister's hand tightly as the watched their mother being lowered into her grave._

"_Buffy, what's happening to Mommy?" young-Dawn whimpered, sounding lost._

"_She's going to heaven, Dawnie," her sister explained somberly._

"_Will she come back?"_

"_No, but someday, we'll meet her there."_

_Dawn looked ready to cry again. Her mother's death had not really seemed like anything significant until now. "But I need her."_

"_I know. But you still have me. And I'll always take care of you."_

"_Promise?"_

"_Pinky-swear."_

_The sisters hooked their pinkies together in a solemn bond._

_End Flashback_

" It'lll work out, Buffy. We can get Spike to talk to her later, if it helps." Willow said anxiously.

Buffy forced herself to push away her troubles. "Thanks, Willow. I'll worry about it later. Ready for some serious shopping?"

The redhead smiled to see her friend's happier mood. "You bet'cha."

"Let's go, then."

* * *

Thoughts, comments, criticisms ... 

le faye


	6. I Won't Be Broken Again

A/N: I know, it's been a while (insert proper excuse here), but hopefully some of you are still interested. I've gone back and revised previous chapters, but nothing really affected the main plot, just minor details.

Thanks so much to DGtek-CrazyaboutAngel, paige, funkydevil206, and Moonjava for their thoughts!

Disclaimer: Why, yes, I do own Buffy. That's why I'm broke and the show's canceled … All belongs to Joss and ME, people. Chapter titles are courtesy of Evanescence lyrics.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence, previously minor child abuse. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T Others uncertain

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: DEFINITELY! Reviewers are the best!

Previously: Buffy returns to Sunnydale for her father's funeral, and has gotten in touch with some old friends in the meantime …

* * *

Well, she had found _something_ good about driving a minivan: it could hold lots and lots of shopping bags. And while Sunnydale was not exactly well-known for its great malls, the two girls had somehow managed to gain enough merchandise to clog the entire backside of the van.

"Whew," Willow said collapsing onto the seat in the coffee shop. "I forgot how tiring shopping could be."

"Yeah," Buffy giggled, "but there's nothing better than a little retail therapy."

"True." Willow gave her own smile in return. "I think we might have cleared out a couple stores, though."

The two shared another grin before turning to other matters.

"So," Willow began after she slowly sipped her drink, "you never told me exactly why you were back in town."

Buffy mock-pouted, and said jokingly, "Can't a girl just wanna come back to her hometown and see her friends again?"

"Yeah, 'course, but …" Willow trailed off and raised her eyebrow expectantly.

The blonde noted another subtle change in her friend that she had been seeing ever since they got together last night. The old Willow might have blushed and stammered, embarrassed for accusing her friend of something, but not now. Boy, had she missed a lot in five years …

"'K … I meant to talk to you about it sooner or later, anyways," Buffy bit her lip nervously. "Um … Hank died. I'm here for his funeral. Apparently, Ahn thought it would be a good idea to show 'caring' for my deceased, albeit estranged, father. So, I wondered – even though I would completely get it if you don't – if you could, maybe, go with me? To the funeral, I mean – even though we'll probably be the only two people there besides the priest."

All that new information seemed so entirely disconnected from their topic of discussion and was delivered in something of a rush, all Willow did was sit there and blinked owlishly for a few moments. Finally, her mind seized upon the one thing that stood out to her most. "What's an 'Ahn'?"

Buffy glanced at her friend questioningly before answering, "Um … Anya, the friend and manager I told you about, remember?"

The redhead nodded, and the pair lapsed back into silence.

Finally, Buffy grew antsy and prodded her still shock-frozen friend. "Um, Willow? You gonna say anything about some of that other stuff I just told you?"

That was enough to shake the girl out of her drifting thoughts. "What? Oh! Yeah, 'course I'll go with you, Buff, and the gang probably would, too, if you asked. But – gosh – I didn't even know Hank was out of jail ..."

That comment suddenly reminded Buffy of something she had meant to ask. "Will, you never told me what happened after I left town. C'mon. It's your turn to share."

Now looking as if she was recovering somewhat from the shock, Willow was willing to give her side in hopes of making things clearer.

"Well, after you left, Dawn and I found out that one of your neighbors call the police about a domestic disturbance. When we went back to your house later that night, we saw a couple cops leading Hank out of the house. We were going to turn back and leave, but he saw Dawn and lunged at her, trying to hit her and calling her names.

"After that, there was a whole mess with social services and a court case. Hank was sent to jail for child abuse, and we found out that your mom had named Mr. Giles the legal guardian of you and Dawn, but well, you were gone, so it was just Dawn."

Buffy felt a renewed wave of guilt wash over her. _God, no wonder Dawnie hates me. I promised, and then I wasn't there for her._

Willow must have seen her look because she reached out a comforting hand. "Oh, Buffy, you couldn't have known. You did what you thought was right."

She refused to let Willow dismiss her mistakes. "But it wasn't right, was it?"

Her friend smiled comfortingly. "Then maybe this is your chance to fix it."

oOoOo

The day had turned out to be both physically and emotionally exhausting, and Buffy was now back at home, finishing sorting through her luggage.

"Hey, Wills, I was wondering if - "

Buffy suddenly interrupted herself as she saw – instead of Willow – there was a different girl hovering in the doorway in the room. "You're not Willow."

The lovely, gentle-looking blonde looked up and shook her head. "N-no. I-I'm Tara. I l-live here, too. You m-must be Buffy. I-it's n-nice to meet you."

With timid smile, she tentatively offered her hand. Buffy returned the grin and shook hands. Something about the other young woman seeming soothing, and Buffy liked her immediately.

"It's nice to meet you, Tara. I hope you don't mind me staying here."

"No, of c-course not. Willow's t-told me so much about you." Tara seemed to gain confidence as she relaxed in light of Buffy's friendliness.

The two heard footsteps on the stairs, and Willow's red head appeared. "Buffy, ready to go bronzing? Dawn and Spike are waiting."

She glanced up, and she broke into a happy smile when she saw the other blonde.

"Hey, Tara! You're back!" Willow hugged the blonde. "How was your trip?"

Tara also grinned. "G-good."

Willow suddenly remembered Buffy. "Oh! Sorry. Buffy, this is Tara, my girlfriend. Tara, Buffy."

"We just me – wait, girlfriend?"

Willow suddenly looked guilty as both blondes stared at her questioningly. "Whoops. I forgot to tell you didn't I?"

She took a deep breath. "Buffy, I'm gay."

"Oh." A beat. "OK."

The redhead was surprised. "What? You're OK with this?"

"Well," Buffy explained, "I can't control what you do, and as long as you're happy, I'm good." Living in LA had left Buffy more open to different relationships, and she meant it when she said that all she wanted was Willow's happiness.

"Oh, speaking of which," Buffy turned towards Tara, and said – although her smile somewhat ruined the effect – with mock-sternness, "if you hurt my best friend, I'll be forced to hunt you down and do something horrible to you."

Willow cut in. "Oh! Well, you don't have to worry about that. Tara's the sweetest."

The two linked hands, and Willow smiled proudly as her girlfriend blushed, then proceeded to tell Buffy more about her. "Tara runs an art gallery in town, so she's sometimes off on buying trips."

The three girls began a new conversation as they walked downstairs to dinner.

"A gallery? Wow, that sounds hard."

"N-not really. I-I love art, s-so it's more fun t-than work." Tara ducked her head shyly.

"That's …"

The girls continued to talk and laugh as they joined Dawn and Spike and headed out the door.

oOoOo

"Hey, Wills, Tara, Dawnie, Bleach-head," Xander greeted the groups of friends as the arrived at the Bronze.

"Hey, Xander!" The girls chorused while Spike greeted him with, "Hey, Whelp."

"Who's this?" The brunette glanced curiously at Buffy.

"Hi, Xander," she said, smiling.

His eyes widen in recognition. "Buffy!"

Buffy shared a glance and grin with Willow. The redhead answered for her. "Yup!"

Buffy suddenly found herself engulfed in a hug, not unlike that day in the Espresso Pump with Willow. "Breathe, Xander."

He pulled back. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, "But it's so great to see you! What happened? Where have you been? And, most importantly, did you make any cute girlfriends you could introduce?"

The three friends sat down, starting to make up for 5 years worth of catching up …

oOoOo

Meanwhile, Spike, Tara and Dawn had wandered over to the bar to get drinks for the group.

The youngest glowered fiercely at the laughing trio.

"God, how can they just accept her like that! They don't even have proof that she's who she says she is!" Dawn complained.

"Dawnie, why would someone want to pretend to be Buffy?" Tara asked logically. "She's still Willow and Xander's best friend. Aren't you the least bit glad that she's back, too?"

"Nuh-uh!" Dawn denied with a firm shake of her head.

"Y'know, Bit," Spike said as he returned with a tray of drinks, "you should give Big Sis a chance. Talk to 'er."

"Nope, I know Willow or Buffy wanted you to convince us to 'make up,' and I can tell you right now, Mister, I'm going to stay unconvinced!" She glared unwaveringly.

Spike remained unfazed, although still slightly concerned for her. "Doesn't matter if anyone put me up to it, Platelet. It's still true. Buffy's been right depressed 'bout you being mad at her."

"You're still sisters, Dawnie," Tara reminded gently. "Give her a chance."

"She left me all alone." Now, she sounded more like a lost little girl than angry teen.

"Now she's tryin' ta make up for it."

Dawn still looked uncertain, so Spike decided not to push.

"C'mon, Bit." He held out his hand. "You promised me a dance."

Dawn smiled shakily. Spike handed the tray of drinks to Tara with a silent thanks, and the two walked off onto the dance floor.

In another corner of the room, Tara could see the three life long friends dance (although Xander looked more as if he was having a spaz attack) and laugh happily, entirely at ease with one another.

The blonde smiled, thinking, _They still had a ways to go, but they're getting there._

_

* * *

_

Review! Pweety Pwease?

le faye


	7. Someone to Talk To

A/N: Hi. Yeah, that's all …

Thanks you, D.K., katie, paige, funkydevil206, kim, Moonjava, and General Mac for the comments!

Disclaimer: Why, yes, I do own BtVS. That's why I'm broke and the show's canceled … All belongs to Joss and ME, people. Chapter titles are courtesy of Evanescence lyrics.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence, previously minor child abuse. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T Others uncertain

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: DEFINITELY! Reviewers are the best!

Previously: Buffy returns to Sunnydale for her father's funeral, and has gotten in touch with some old friends in the meantime …

* * *

She really couldn't decide what was more disturbing: the fact that Anya was dead (no pun intended) right about the mourners, or the fact that a funeral had never been less funeral-like. 

Unexpectedly, and yet not so much when you think about it, the whole gang had agreed to accompany her to her father's interment. Somehow, Willow, Tara, and Spike had even gotten Dawn to go with minimal fuss – although she still generally ignored her older sister.

Now, at the funeral, Tara and Willow exchanged occasional whispers, properly subdue and – of course – not intentionally rude, but entirely too immersed in each other to notice much else.

Spike didn't even try to pay attention – his disdain for the deceased-in-question went unhidden. Instead, he seemed to be making random odd comments that caused Dawn to erupt into spontaneous giggles that she attempted – half-heartedly and unsuccessfully – to smother.

Xander was bored.

Everyone else looked like they were trying their hardest to be sad, but it was a difficult task when they had very few actual encounters with Hank Summers and there were hardly any kind words to be said about him.

Buffy sighed, running a hand through her hair as the service ended, and the small group of mourners disbanded.

oOoOo

The day had started early, with everyone scrambling to get ready on such short notice, and the funeral procession to the nearby cemetery was uneventful.

Buffy had been adamant about not burying Hank next to her mother. She couldn't taint the memory of the woman who had actually loved her and Dawn by placing her next to a man that had eventually come to be hated and feared by all the Summers women.

A wake wasn't really even under consideration.

Earlier, when Buffy arrived at the plot Anya had chosen for Hank – far from Joyce's burial place – she saw that the priest had already arrived, and there was a group there, dressed in black, waiting for the service to begin.

The problem was that she really didn't recognize of these people.

"We are so sorry, dear, to hear of your loss." A plump, middle-aged woman approached Buffy, startling her with her words.

"Erm … er, thank you, Ms. …" Buffy really had no idea what to say to her.

The woman beamed. "Mrs. Wilcox, dear. If there's anything I can do for you, you tell me. Alright?"

Buffy nodded slowly. As Mrs. Wilcox walked away, she turned to see Spike, smirking at the disturbed look on her face.

"That bird's involved in almos' every charity event, an' sometimes, she shows up a' funerals or celebrations jus' to 'show support.' I suppose she means well, but she can be a nosy ol' biddy."

Bufy gave a surprised laugh at Spike's description, earning disapproving glances from a few of Mrs. Wilcox's fellow mourners just as Willow joined them.

"Wow, do we know those people? It's like old Elizabethan England when they hired actors to make funeral processions more dramatic," the redhead mused outloud.

Buffy and Spike stared at her oddly.

"What? They did!" Willow protested.

Then, the three fell quiet as the minister got ready to begin the service …

oOoOo

Now, as people began to filter away, Buffy's heard a sorely missed and extremely familiar voice behind her.

"Buffy?"

"Giles!" She turned around to see the man who had been her true father figure through her childhood years.

Giles, once he saw that it was she, promptly took off his glasses and cleaned them. Then he launched into a parent-mode tirade.

"Buffy, where on Earth have you been! How could you have been so irresponsible --"

"I was not un-responsible! I was perfectly with the responsibility-having!"

"But --"

"No, listen! I thought I could get a job and work and …"

As the fight progressed, Buffy had become more agitated, and she began pacing. She continued her rant, not noticing when Giles stopped arguing, and just watched fondly as his harangue was turned around on him.

Finally when Buffy paused to take a breath, he cut in quietly, "I was worried."

Buffy's eyes widened slightly as she unexpectedly halted to turn to face the man. Then, without warning, she laughed and launched herself into his arms.

Giles stood still for a shocked moment, then hugged her back. With a final squeeze, Buffy let him go. "It's nice to see you haven't lost the skill for lecturing," she teased.

"I do not 'lecture,' I merely …" Giles gave an indignant huff and changed tact when he saw the girl's grin, "Well, you can blame William for that. The boy never grows up."

As the two began leaving the cemetery, Buffy continued smiling, but she ducked her head when she replayed their argument in her head.

"I'm sorry for making you worry," she said in a quiet voice. "I just, I dunno," she ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes, "I thought I could find a way to support Dawnie and me in L.A., I guess …"

Giles sighed. "I understand, Buffy, that you were doing what you thought was right. But you knew you could have always come to me for help."

"I know. It's just … something I had to do for myself."

Whether Buffy knew or not, Giles really did understand. The prideful streak in his surrogate daughter was unforgettable. He decided to change the subject, "So … how have you been?"

"I'm good," Buffy answered. "How 'bout you?"

Giles smiled wryly. "Still alive and holding on, I suppose."

"So … how is Los Angeles?"

"Good. I'm doing OK, acting. Sorta semi-famous now, but … yeah …"

Giles nodded, and they lapsed into a contemplative silence before Buffy remembered her question.

"Oh! I meant to ask: Willow said the other day that you were Dawn's legal guardian. How did she end up living in our old house and all?"

"Well, after … everything … we thought it would be best not to make Dawn move. I'll admit, I was surprised when I learned that your mother made me your guardian, but I suppose it was logical, seeing as you had no relatives. But, I digress," Giles smiled, catching Buffy's wandering attention, and continued back on track.

"We saw that the mortgage for the house had been paid, and it was now technically Dawn's property. So William and I lived there with her for the next two years, but I kept my flat. Then, Willow moved in once she started college and now Tara – and my son, when he bothers to come home – live there also.

"Willow had already proven to be a better care-taker for Dawn than I could be," Giles continued, already seeing Buffy's next question, "and since we are no longer a concern of Social Services and I live nearby, I believe she does not need my constant care."

"Willow goes to UC Sunnydale and doesn't have to work?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Yes. And aside from the fact that she could have earned a scholarship from any university in the nation," there was obvious pride in Giles' voice since Willow was also like a daughter to him, "her parents had apparently struck rich with one of their business enterprises, so she now has a trust fund."

"She decided to stay for Dawn, didn't she?" the blonde asked in a depressed manner, knowing that her best friend would never tell her something like this, just to spare her feelings.

Giles caught her guilt. "That may have been part of the reason, but Willow decided on her own that her life was her in Sunnydale. She had also met Tara at the art gallery earlier that year, so it seemed best to her to stay."

Suddenly, Buffy realized that their conversation had taken them to the gate of the cemetery, and her friends were waiting impatiently for her nearby.

"Hurry up, da'," Spike yelled out impatiently, "or are you gettin' slow in your old age?"

Giles rolled his eyes and Buffy giggled. "Go, go," Giles waved Buffy away. "By all means, leave the decrepit old man all alone."

Buffy laughed again. "I'll see you later, Giles."

The corner of Giles' mouth lifted upwards. "Yes, later, Buffy."

Once she reached her friends, she turned back to see Giles get into a little red convertible. "Whoa. When'd Giles get a car like that?"

Willow and Dawn sniggered at the memory, and Spike explained, "Da's old car died plus mid-life crisis. Don' ask."

oOoOo

Buffy wandered onto the back porch after helping Willow and Tara clean up in the aftermath of a somewhat awkward 'family' dinner. She was assaulted with memories of all the things she used to do out here when she was younger.

"You alright, luv?"

Bufy jumped, whirling around. "Gosh, Spike, creepy much?"

Spike smirked and took another drag of the cigarette he was puffing on. He walked over to join her leaning against the railing. "What can I say, pet, 've always been bad."

"No, you haven't. There was this time when you were little --"

"Go away," Spike cut her off irritably. "You're ruining the image 'm trying to keep."

"Buffy snickered. "Yeah, well, it doesn't work half as well when the person you're talking to knows all your embarrassing childhood stories."

"Don' have embarrassing stories!" He protested.

"Wanna bet on that?"

Seeing the evil look in her eyes, he quickly declined and changed the subject. "So, what brings you out here?"

Buffy frowned slightly. "Nothing, really. Why?"

"This was always your worry place," Spike explained.

"Yeah," Buffy sighed. "I remember."

"Like that time when you grew a huge pimple on your nose the day before a big summer party. You came out here, an' then you got mad when Dawn followed you an' poked an' popped it for ya," Spike reminisced.

"Zit popping is gross!" Buffy protested. "Besides, it wasn't any worse then that summer when you decided that the best way to impress girls was to write them poetry. You sat out here for hours wring bad lines. It was kinda cute, in a geeky way," she decided.

Spike growled. "'M not cute. Or geeky. Take tha' back."

"Nuh-uh." She emphasized this with a shake of her head.

"I'll tickle you," he threatened.

"Not ticklish."

"Really? That's not what I remember …" Without warning, he lunged forward and attacked her sides, tickling without mercy.

This caused Buffy to fall to the ground, gasping for breath and laughing uncontrollably. After several minutes, she gave in, "OK, OK, stop! Spike! You win!"

Suddenly he stopped, and the two became acutely aware of how close they were to each other.

Spike could feel Buffy's warm breath fan out against his cheek as she lay trapped beneath him.

They both thought simultaneously, _If I just lean in a little closer …_

Then, the back door burst open with a loud _bang_, causing the two to spring apart.

Buffy turned, ready to snap at the impatient interrupter, but all thoughts of anger dissipated when she saw a haggard and disheveled Anya.

This worry was augmented when her friend didn't even make an inappropriately blunt statement about Spike, who had risen to stand right next to her.

"Ahn?" Buffy's brow knitted in confusion. "What's wrong? Why're you here? Are you OK?"

Anya cut her off. "I'm fine, Buffy, but you're not. I think, you might have a stalker …"

* * *

Whatever could possibly happen next? ... o.O 

le faye


	8. To Live, To Breathe

A/N: Hi. Yeah, that's all …

Thanks you, paige, funkydevil206, Emma, Moonjava, for the comments!

Disclaimer: Why, yes, I do own BtVS. That's why I'm broke and the show's canceled … All belongs to Joss and ME, people. Chapter titles are courtesy of Evanescence lyrics.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence, previously minor child abuse. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: DEFINITELY! Reviewers are the best!

Previously: Hank is buried, Buffy and Giles reunited, and Anya shows up with surprising news …

* * *

"I'm fine, Buffy, but you're not. I think, you might have a stalker …" 

Later, Buffy might've thought back, and been thankful that Anya's arrival and her flooring news gave her no time to contemplate her almost-kiss with Spike, but in this moment, all she could do was stare at her friend incredulously.

Things got more interesting when Willow and Tara appeared behind Anya.

"Hey, Buffy, is everything OK?" Willow asked, seeing her friend's expression. "I told Anya you were back here 'cause she just showed up seeming really worried about you. What happened?"

The redhead grew increasingly agitated when no one seemed to have any answered, and her girlfriend clasped her hand in a silent gesture of comfort.

Spike, on the other hand seemed skeptical. "Why do I feel like I jus' got thrown into the middle of some soddin' soap opera? You can't really believe tha' Buffy has a –"

"Why would I lie about this?" Anya cut Spike off with a glare. "As Buffy's friend and manager, I only have her best interests at heart! Who the hell are you?"

At that, the blonde in question snapped out of her daze in time to keep Spike from voicing his sharp retort, and to remember her manners. "Anya, this is Willow, Tara, and Spike," she pointed to each one of her friends in turn, giving a somewhat superfluous introduction. "Guys, Anya."

Tara was the first to react. "N-nice to meet you, Anya," she offered with a warm smile. "Now, d-do you guys want to go inside to t-talk about this?"

The group filed obediently into the living room. Tara and Willow offered to make coffee, and after being no-so-subtly elbowed and kicked several times, Spike was dragged into the kitchen to help them.

Buffy looked at her friend worriedly. "Are you sure you're OK, Anya? I've never seen you look--"

Anya smiled, small and tired. "It's really nothing. I just haven't slept while."

"Wow. You always get your beauty sleep, except for that one time when you thought you had figured out a way to get enough money to die rich," Buffy joked half-heartedly.

"Well, at the rate I was going, I would have _only_ been a millionaire by the time I died," Anya pouted. "You can't expect me to be happy with that."

The girls smiled at their on-going joke, but Anya grew serious once more. "Buffy, you really have to know about this. The other day, when I went to check on your apartment, the front desk said that a box had just been left for you. They gave it to me, and it looked like a box of flowers, so I was going to open it and put them in water."

Buffy opened her mouth to speak, but Anya waved her question away. "That's not the problem; I'm getting there. It wasn't just a box of flowers. It was a box of _dead _flowers, crawling with maggots."

Buffy covered her mouth in surprise, and she saw Willow – who had just entered the room – make a face and nearly drop the tray of drinks. None of them felt able to stomach anything in that moment, anyhow.

Anya continued, " There was a card, typed. It read: 'I found you. Now you will pay.'"

Buffy looked puzzled, trying to remember if she had made any enemies.

"I know, it's pretty lame, as threatening messages go, but it should still be taken seriously."

Willow, Tara, and Spike all hovered by the doorway, unsure of what to do, but now, the redhead offered an opinion. "If Buffy really is in danger, she should be OK here, right? I mean, the stalker-person sent the flowers to her in L.A."

"That's why I hope she could stay here a little longer," Anya replied. "Until we get some answers."

"Wait, I should get a say in this," Buffy cut in. "How can you be sure that it was meant for me? Did you go to the police, Anya?"

"It's not a priority to the police. No one's dead, 'it could be a prank,' they said."

"And you know that it was a message to me because?" Buffy prompted.

"The letter was addressed to Buffy Summers."

Spike was the first to see the significance, remembering everything the blonde had told him about the past five years of her life. "Wait, _Buffy _Summers?" He asked.

"Yes, Buffy," Anya clarified, "not Elizabeth."

oOoOo

Soon, the group decided that they could find no immediate solution to their problem, and they decided to turn in for the night. Buffy offered to share her room with Anya, and Spike was resigned to making a permanent camp on the couch.

They all fell asleep with troubled thoughts on their minds.

oOoOo

Buffy woke the next morning to see that Anya was already dressed, and chatting away happily on her cell phone. She briefly wondered at the fact that there were people as crazy as her friend, willing to get up at such an early hour to work.

Her thoughts were cut off as she heard the front door open and close, and Xander shouting for Dawn to get ready to go to school. Anya, curious as ever, left the room to meet the new arrival, and Buffy decided to get up before her outspoken friend managed to shock Xander to death.

She seemed to be a little too late, however. After a quick shower and getting dressed, she arrived downstairs in time to hear Xander introducing himself to Anya.

Buffy also heard Anya's reply of, "Nice to meet you. I'm Anya … Wanna be my orgasm buddy?"

Unable to hold her laughter as she heard Xander choke on his coffee, she walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, Buffy," Anya greeted as if nothing had gone wrong. Xander was still hacking, feeling thankful that everyone else was in the dining room.

"Morning, Anya," Buffy replied, hiding her smile. "I think you just broke Xander."

"Hey!" Xander finally stopped coughing. "I'm not broken! Just surprised … with a side dish of startled. Is everyone in L.A. like this?"

"Nope," Anya said happily. " Just me. I find that by being forthcoming, I tendto save time that could be put to better uses – namely getting more money and orgasms."

Xander, having returned to drinking his coffee, promptly broke into another choking fit.

"Wow, Buffy," Anya addressed her friend while eying the brunette curiously, " is he always this prone to choking?"

"Um, no." Buffy couldn't hide her smile as she subtly moved Xander's cup away from him, fearing for her friend's health. "But I think, since he's an old-fashioned kinda guy, you might wanna start with asking him out."

Anya frowned for a moment. "OK. Xander, would you like to go on a date with me before becoming my orgasm buddy?"

Thankfully, Xander had braced himself in preparing for shocking words this time, and so did not fall into another fit. He did turn a lovely shade of tomato red, though. He paused for a moment before stuttering, "Yeah, sure, Anya. That'd be, um, nice."

"Great!" Anya smiled happily. "You can pick me up at 7 o'clock sharp."

Dawn walked through the room and dragged a half-dazed Xander out before he had a chance to reply, muttering something about evil teachers and being late again.

Anya waved good-bye happily before re-glueing her ear to her phone and continuing her business calls. Just because she wasn't in L.A. and she had just gotten a date with a cute – albeit a little clueless – guy, didn't mean she was going to let her job slide.

Buffy watched the whole exchange with a smile. Despite Anya's bluntness, she had a certain charm that, more often than not, got her what she wanted.

"Playin' matchmaker for the Whelp?"

Buffy jumped and turned around, seeing Spike. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noted with disappointment that he was fully clothed this morning.

"Do you have to do that?" Buffy asked irritably.

A raised eyebrow. "What?"

"That sneaking thing – oh, never mind. No, I wasn't playing matchmaker. Anya and Xander did that on their own. Though Anya did all the asking and Xander just did a lot of choking."

Spike laughed. "You're friend looks like she could be good for 'im. 'E hasn't 'ad a serious girlfriend since tha' Cordelia bird."

Buffy nodded absently, then turned a startled glance at the bleached blonde. "Wait. Xander dated Cordelia? As in snob-queen Cordelia Chase?"

Spike frowned a little. "Um, yeah, think tha' was 'er las' name. Why?"

"Don't you remember the 'We Hate Cordelia' club? Tell me what happened. This sounds like blackmail-worthy material."

The two sat down to a late breakfast as Spike began sharing his evil secrets, their worries momentarily forgotten.

oOoOo

"Hello, Summers' residence." Buffy answered the phone, then frown as she realized that it wasn't really just the Summers' residence, and she had no idea what to call her temporary home. She shouldn't even be answering calls in the first place, but everyone else was busy: Spike and Tara at the gallery, Anya still on her cell, and Willow studying.

The person on the other end didn't seem to care, though.

"Hello, this is Principal Snyder at Sunnydale High."

That nasal whine brought back a few unpleasant memories of high school, yet the man barreled on before she had time to reply.

"I'm calling to inform you that Dawn Summers has decided to leave school grounds and ignore her afternoon classes. Normally this would not be such a great issue, and she would be reprimanded with a simple detention, but already, this has occurred several times this month. If this behavior continues, we will be forced to take more drastic measures. Speak to her, or I will."

Snyder hung up. Leaving Buffy to stare at the phone. _Typical_, she thought. _He doesn't even bother to find out whom he's talking to._

Pushing thoughts of the incompetent principal out of her mind, Buffy went to find Willow.

"Hey, Wills," she knocked softly on the doorframe of her friend's bedroom.

"Yeah?" Willow looked up.

"That was Snyder, saying that Dawn was skipping class _again_," Buffy explained. "Why didn't you tell me she did this?"

"There hasn't exactly been time," Willow said pointedly. "And I didn't think it was that big a problem since Dawn has been doing better lately… is it?"

"I dunno," Buffy admitted. "Snyder said he would take 'drastic measures,' but that's not such a big threat. I'm going to go see if I can find Dawn. I think I know where she might be."

"If you're sure," Willow said doubtfully, "but go easy on the lecturing and yelling, it's been hard for her."

Buffy sighed tiredly. "I'm not going to lecture her. I just want to talk …"

oOoOo

Buffy got out of her car and walked towards the small circle of trees, and sure enough, she could hear Dawn's voice drifting out. She saw her sister sitting, facing their mother's grave stone.

"… and Buffy came back the other day, mom. She's famous in LA, and I guess you would be happy for her. But she's, like, completely different. I thought I was mad at her, but I'm not so sure, and--"

Buffy cleared her throat, causing her sister to spin around swiftly.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn's eyes narrowed.

Buffy shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. "I just wanted to visit Mom. What about you?"

"I'm done." Dawn walked past Buffy to leave, but the blonde caught her arm.

"Wait, Dawn, talk to me, please?" Buffy pleaded.

"Why? What d'you want me to say? That everything's perfect now that you're back?" Dawn bit out.

"No, I don't expect you to feel that way, but I do want you to tell me what's wrong." For once, Buffy was the patient one.

"You're _asking _me what's wrong! You can't tell!" Dawn exclaimed angrily, hands balled into fists at her side. "You LEFT me. God! Everyone I ever cared about leaves. Mom left, Dad was completely gone all the time, and when I thought you would always be with me, you _left_!"

Exhausted, the teenager burst into tears, and her sister quickly gathered her into her arms. Dawn fought a little, then gave up and just let herself be held.

Buffy rocked back and forth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Dawnie, I never saw it like that. I thought I could do something in L.A. I thought you'd be OK here. I'm sorry …"

"You could've at least called or taken me with you or something," Dawn sniffled, though she had grown a slightly calmer.

"You were safer in Sunnydale," Buffy murmured. "And you know me and my stupid stubbornness. I didn't want to call until I was sure I had a way of supporting us, and by then, I thought it was too late."

"You were stupid," Dawn agreed, although there was no venom in her words.

"I know. I really am sorry for leaving you. Next time I do something dumb, you can come along for the ride."

"Thanks," Dawn smiled a watery smile.

The two sat in comtemplative silence for a moment, just holding each other.

"You owe me lots of shopping and pampering," Dawn said seriously, breaking through the quiet. "Exactly 5 years' worth."

"That I can do," Buffy replied with a grin as she stood up with Dawn. "Ready to go, now?"

The brunette nodded and the two set off.

"You know, about Synder …"

Dawn tensed for a moment.

"… I can't believe that he hasn't been fired yet," the blonde continued, seemingly oblivious. "You'd think the school board would have seen his uselessness by now."

"I know," Dawn agreed with a grin. "He did the most idiotic thing the other day …"

They walked out of the cemetery with arms slung around each others' shoulders, cheerfully insulting the high school principal. Already, things were better between them.

* * *

Did you know that only 3 in every 100 readers left a review? Which will you be? ... (not-so-subtle hint) ; ) 

le faye


	9. Interlude: Girls' Night In

A/N: I'm sorta lost on where to go next. This seemed like a fitting place for an interlude …

Minor Riley bashing. Don't read if you like him.

Another note: I hope I didn't come off as ungrateful in my last 'please-review' message. It's just become customary for me to leave one, and it seemed like a cool fact to share. I'm thankful to all my readers and reviewers who have interest in my ramblings. You guys rock!

Thanks you, BAforever (I love that you love my story, lol. thanks!), Guardian Angel4 (I agree, but you'll just have to read and see who it is ...), paige (you're the best-est for always leaving me a comment ... ; ) lol), funkydevil206 (thanks! I hope this isn't disappointing ...), soccerchic1099 (I'm glad you like it! ), and Moonjava (thanks for always reviewing my stories!), for the thoughts!

Disclaimer: I am the evil genius, Joss, and I control the characters of BtVS! Muhahahahaha! … Or I'm just a demented teen sitting at home with illusions of grandeur. I still get to borrow the characters to play with them , though … hehehe …

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence, previously minor child abuse. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yup, please. It's what keeps this fic going.

Previously: Buffy has a stalker, Xander and Anya meet, and Buffy and Dawn make up …

* * *

"No. Way." Buffy voiced her disbelief. 

"Yup." Willow said with solemn giggles.

"You're kidding."

"Nope." More giggles.

"I can't believe Sam actually married Riley Finn! I thought she had more sense than that!" Buffy exclaimed.

This time, there was full-out laughter from all the girls crowded on the couch. Since it was the weekend, Buffy, Anya, Willow, Tara, and Dawn had opted for an all-girls' night (unceremoniously kicking Spike out of the house), and were now pigging out on junk food, watching movies, and gossiping.

"H-he seemed like a nice guy when I met him," Tara stated, confused.

"That's because you haven't had to sit through hours of his conversation," Dawn retorted. "When he used to have a thing for Buffy, he would come around all the time, trying to 'impress' us with what he knew. Unfortunately, football's the deepest subject he's ever talked about. "

All the girls giggled at her comment.

"What else has happened?" Buffy asked, eager for more news of her high school classmates.

"Well," Willow racked her mind, "Um … Cordelia actually got an acting scholarship to somewhere."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"I still can't believe she and Xander were together for a while."

"Yeah, that sorta weirded us out, too …"

"Shh!" Dawn suddenly hushed. "I wanna hear the movie. I never get to watch _Shakespeare in Love_. Spike wouldn't rent it because he said it was a chick flick and watching Gwenyth Paltrow being English was depressing."

Buffy snorted. "Yeah, that sounds like him. I seen this a couple times 'cause I've always had a thing for cute guys with British accents, though."

"You mean like Spike?" Anya pipe up.

Everyone turned to Buffy curiously as her eyes widened and she began to stammer her denial, "W-what? Spike's accent? Hehe … I didn't even notice. I mean, I'm so used to hearing his voice. Nope. Absolutely no liking of Spike's accent whatsoever."

Anya was relentless, "Then why were you guys almost kissing that night in the backyard?"

Dawn's eyebrows shot up (in a way that was not unlike the guy in question), "You kissed Spike?"

"What! No, of course not!" Buffy looked like a deer in headlights, panicked by the sudden turn the evening had taken.

She didn't," Anya supported, "but she almost did."

"Do you like Spike?" Willow asked curiously, addressing Buffy.

"No! He's, like, the guy I've known for forever," Buffy protested.

"T-that doesn't m-mean you can't like him," Tara offered.

"But I don't. Really!" Buffy continued. "I love him like I would love, um … Xander."

"You can't have Xander. He's mine," Anya informed them primly.

"Oh!" Buffy grasped desperately at the change in subject. "How was your date the other night?"

If possible, everyone's eyebrows rose in synchronization. They allowed Buffy's avoidance to go unchecked, but all gave her looks that promised that the subject would come up again.

"It was great," Anya answered, humoring Buffy. "I think I may have scared him once or twice, but it seemed to go well."

"Are you guys going out again?" Willow asked.

Anya nodded happily.

"Then, as Xander's best friend, and because the poor guy's parents barely know he exists, I have to give you the obligatory 'if-you-hurt-him-you-die' speech," Willow said with her Resolve Face. She took a deep breath. "OK. If you hurt Xander, you die."

Everyone waited for more.

"Um, yeah … that's pretty much it," Willow blushed. Tara smiled encouragingly.

"Don't worry," Anya reassured. "I promise to be nice and give him lots of orgasm --"

"Eww! Minor's ears present!" Dawn cut in. Willow and Tara turned red. Buffy laughed.

" … unless he hurts me first," Anya continued thoughtfully. "Then, all bets are off."

The others shuddered at the vengeful gleam in her eyes.

"Oh! Look, she made it to the play," Dawn exclaimed.

Everyone was confused by the non sequitur, but then they realized the teen referred to the movie that was still playing.

Their attention turned back to the screen as they watched the film end and the credits roll.

"OK," Dawn announced as she popped the tape out. "What next? Horror, Comedy, or Sappiness?"

The rest of the night was filled with more gossiping, teasing, and popcorn-throwing until they all fell asleep, exhausted, in their makeshift sleeping-bag camp on the living room floor.

Just before Anya drifted off, she turned to Buffy. "So, what'cha gonna do?"

"Wha'?" Buffy asked blearily. "Do 'bout what?"

"Liking Spike," her friend answered matter-of-factly.

Buffy sat up, suddenly awake. "I do not like Spike!" she whispered furiously.

Anya stared at Buffy. "Uh-huh. Yeah, right."

"Besides, even if I do – and I'm not saying I do! - I'm just another best friend to him," Buffy reasoned. "I don't want to ruin that by trying to make more out of it."

"Buff, I'm the outsider here," Anya began, "and since I'm still getting to know everyone, I can speak with a little less bias. From what I saw of the two of you together, there was major sparkage."

"No," Buffy corrected, "that was old-friends-reunited-and-still-being-able-to-click that you saw."

Anya rolled her eyes. "I can't believe how deep you're able to go into denial-land sometimes, Buffy. I get to say 'I told you so' when you figure out that I'm right."

"Not likely," was the other blonde's answer. But she couldn't help the thoughts that filled her head as she drifted off the sleep …

* * *

I know, sorta short. Um ... reviews make my muse happy? 

le faye


	10. All My Thoughts of You

A/N: Um, yeah, I haven't died or anything, so … here it is …

Thanks you, Casey, Mony19, funkydevil206, soccerchic1099, and Moonjava, for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I am the evil genius, Joss, and I control the characters of BtVS! Muhahahahaha! … Or I'm just a demented teen sitting at home with illusions of grandeur. I still get to borrow the characters to play with them , though … hehehe …

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Much appreciated. Much loved.

Previously: Buffy has a stalker, Xander and Anya meet, and Buffy and Dawn make up …

* * *

She couldn't help it. A snort escaped her before she could bring her hand up to cover her mouth.

"'Ey! 'S not funny!"

"Yes, it is," Dawn said while Buffy gave up trying to hide her laughter.

The sisters stared at the bleached blonde, who had gotten his hands hopelessly ensnared in a maze of yarn and knitting needles.

Knitting had been a pastime the younger Summers had picked up from Tara a while ago. In turn, she insisted on teaching Spike (though he really suspected that Dawn just wanted an excuse to laugh at him) whenever he was home.

After all this time, he still hadn't gotten the knack of it. More often than not, their knitting sessions ended with Dawn giggling her head off and helping Spike unravel whatever mess he'd managed to make.

Today, for lack of anything better to do, Buffy had decided to join the two.

"'Ey, stop laughing!" Spike complained. "'S not like you're doin' any better."

Buffy looked down at the little, tangled lump in her hands that was the product of an hour's work.

"Yeah? Well, at least I didn't end up with my hands tied together."

Spike pouted, and Buffy almost felt sorry for him – until she realized that he was doing it on purpose.

Just then, Anya danced past the living room, poking her head in briefly and only noticing the two blondes. "Whoa, bondage games with yarn? Kinky," she observed.

Immediately, Dawn dropped the scarf she had been making (never mind that they lived in California, she heard that scarves would be in style this year) and covered her ears as if they had been burned. She began her mantra of "ew, ew, ew …"

A thoroughly mortified Buffy turned beet red and exclaimed, "Anya!"

It was too late, though. Her wayward friend had already gone out the door to meet Xander for their date.

Buffy looked back to see Spike's shoulders shaking in silent laughter. She rolled her eyes and poked him in the ribs, but he only looked at her with amusement.

She once again marveled at how comfortable Spike was with himself. Before, he would have been even more embarrassed than she was.

"You know, I think you've all gone crazy and I'm never teaching either of you to knit again," Dawn declared randomly before leaving.

Spike went into another spasm of laughter and when he finally caught his breath, he told Buffy, "Now 've got to thank your friend, Anya, from savin' me from Dawn."

"Right, 'cause Dawn with a knitting needle was just so scary," Buffy said sarcastically.

"You 'aven't been goin' through this for months, luv."

Dawn stuck her head in the room. "I heard that! Now see if I help you unwrap your hands!"

She poke her tongue out and then ran upstairs.

Spike glanced at his hands in dismay, then turned to Buffy beseechingly. "Luv?"

"Hmm, I dunno," Buffy pretended to consider it. "For one thing, you can't tickle me anymore with your hands tied up."

"'Course I can!" He waved his few free fingers menacingly, but could not produce the same effect.

His friend relented. "Fine, I'll help," Buffy sighed, as if it were a great burden. "But you have to tell me your story."

"What story?" Spike played innocent.

"You've been avoiding telling me what you've been doing for the last couple of years. You know my story and I've heard everyone else's. So it's your turn to share." She emphasized this with another hard poke to his stomach, then began to work through the knotted yarn.

He shrugged noncommittally. "Not much to say, luv. Graduated high school early, went through college. Now 'm writing."

"You make your life sound boring," Buffy observed, still intent on her task.

Spike glanced sideways at the girl sitting next to him, a sudden thought flashing through his mind about how cute she looked with the tip of her tongue poked out the side of her mouth in concentration.

He shook it away before answering with a slight shrug. "That's the gist of wha' happened, pet."

"Your accent's different."

Spike raised his eyebrows at the sudden change in subject. "I spent at while in different parts of London, luv. Must've picked it up somewhere."

He rubbed his wrists as Buffy finished undoing the last knot.

"Thanks, Buffy," he said as he stood up. "Wills and Tara 'ave gone out, too. Want me to make dinner?"

Buffy looked up with surprise. "Um, sure."

"'K, pizza or Chinese?" The bleached blonde replied with a smirk.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Knew it was too good to be true. Pizza."

He ignored her first comment. "Pizza it is, then. Still like pineapples, luv?"

"Yeah," Buffy called back as she went up the stairs, "thanks."

oOoOo

"Hey, Dawn." Buffy looked into her sister's room, where Dawn sat on her bed reading a magazine.

"Hey, Buffy. Didya get Spike untangled?" Dawn greeted as she looked up.

"Um, yeah, he's getting dinner now."

"You mean: he's on the phone ordering pizza?" Dawn raised an eyebrow in a Spike-esque style.

"Yeah," Buffy laughed as she came in and sat down next to the teenager.

"So … what's up?" Dawn asked.

"Dawnie …"

"Yeah?"

"What's he been like, the past few years?"

"Who? Spike? He's been … I dunno, Spike. I guess I'm used to him now, but I think he sorta went through a major change after you left."

Buffy cocked her head questioningly, asking Dawn to continue.

"Well, he was really worried about you, that first summer, when he learned you'd left. I wasn't really there, but I think he had a fight with Wills …"

_Flashback_

"_How could you just let her leave!" William exclaimed._

"_I'm sorry, William," Willow answered quietly. "But she was so determined to go and …"_

"_She's only sixteen! She's a minor! She's your best friend! You could've talked her out of it or somethin'!"_

"_You're only a year older, Will. And you know that Buffy's always had to act older than her age."_

"_Are you guys looking for her? Do none of you care that she left?"_

"_God, Will," Willow jumped up, suddenly incensed. "What kind of question is that? Of course we care! Giles is asking the police every other day if they've found her yet. But … she told me – I mean, Buffy said that she wanted to do this for herself. I'm .. not sure she wants to be found, exactly…"_

_William couldn't exactly counter that. It sounded like the very thing his impulsive friend would do. "'M sorry, Wills. I know you care, but still …"_

"_It's Buffy, William," Willow countered. "Do you think I could have stopped her? Besides, I trust her."_

"_So do I! But …"_

_Willow walked over to William, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. " I know you're worried and so am I, but we've done all we can and Buffy knows what she's doing," she explained softly._

_William got up. "I … I can't think right now. 've gotta do somethin'."_

_He walked out the door. Willow stared after him, worried._

_The next day, Giles found a note from his son, explaining that he had gone to L.A. …_

_End Flashback_

"He's spent every summer looking for me?" Buffy asked.

"Um, yeah. That was where he was when you came back last week. He's traveled to lots of place by now."

"You still haven't explained about the 80's look and sudden bit of extra-confident egomaniac-ness, though," Buffy pursued.

Dawn looked a little bit uneasier with this turn in conversation. "Um, I think that's more like Spike's story to tell …"

"Nibblet! Buffy! Pizza's here!" The girls heard Spike call up the stairs.

"Let's go. Dinner time." Dawn got up.

With their talk forgotten for the moment, the sisters raced each other down the stairs, giggling all the way.

oOoOo

"Buffy!" Willow stepped into the house as she came back from school and called out as she flipped through that day's mail. "You've got a letter!"

Elephant feet were heard crashing down the stairs, and the blonde appeared a moment later. "I've got mail?" Her brows knitted together. "But no one knows I'm here."

Willow shrugged and handed the envelope to her friend.

Eagerly, Buffy opened it and pulled out the contents; but just as suddenly, she dropped it and jumped back, as if burnt.

"Buff? What's wrong?"

Shakily, Buffy pointed at the picture that lay on the floor.

"Oh, Goddess," Willow breathed, staring at it with wide eyes.

The photo was one of their entire group of friends the summer before Buffy left. They were all smiling happily, crowding together to get in the picture.

What was disturbing was the fact that Buffy's head had been cut out. And, everyone else's eyes had been scratched out.

"Oh, Goddess," Willow repeated.

* * *

Reviews are happy! ... yeah, i think i'm completely high or something right now ...

le faye


	11. Holding My Last Breath

A/N: YAY! I did it. (I'm just going to ignore the fact that this chappie is at least a week and a half late.) I rushed it, so I hope it's not complete crap. Now I lose all computer access. :( But I promise to finish this when I get back. Thanks to everyone for your patience!

Thanks you, spk, Mony19, pinkyblue-ice, kim, and Moonjava, for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I am the evil genius, Joss, and I control the characters of BtVS! Muhahahahaha! … Or I'm just a demented teen sitting at home with illusions of grandeur. I still get to borrow the characters to play with them , though … hehehe …

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Much appreciated. Much loved.

Previously: Buffy gets yet another creepy message ...

* * *

" 'I'm watching you'?" Xander read incredulously from the back of the photo. "God, how corny can this guy be?" 

"Corny or not," Buffy snapped, pacing around worriedly, "He obviously knows where I am and he knows about you guys."

"How'd he get this picture?" Willow wondered aloud, motioning to the photo and note she had somehow found the courage to pick up and drop into a plastic bag.

None of the gang had an answer for her, and even Spike stayed silent.

The tension was evident until Buffy abruptly broke through the silence, proclaiming, "I should leave."

"What?" Dawn protested. "But you just got back!"

"If I'm gone, you'll all be safe from this," Buffy reasoned. "I'm bringing trouble by staying."

"B-but if th-that were t-true," Tara ventured, "Then he wouldn't have bothered with t-the group picture, would he? H-he would have just targeted you."

"Glinda has a point, y'know," Spike spoke up, supporting the shy woman. "It looks like he mos'ly out to get you, but he's not so fond of any 'f us. He's not jus' hurtin' us to 'urt you."

Buffy glanced again at the picture with her friends' eyes gouged out.

"Besides," Willow said, "we're not just going to let you go through this alone. We're your best friends, and we stick together. Right?"

"I'm all with the stick-age," Xander supported with a grin.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Buffy smiled at her friends' antics. Then she sobered once again. "So what can we do now?"

"Go to the police," Anya supplied.

The seasoned Sunnydale residents let out bitter snorts of laughter (the Sunnydale branch of law enforcement wasn't exactly known for its effectiveness) before realizing she was serious.

"The _Sunnydale_ police?" Dawn squeaked out.

The gang exchanged helpless looks when the realized that that seemed to be their best option at the moment.

oOoOo

"Angel!"

"Peaches!"

The disbelieving cries were heard simultaneously as both blondes seemed to recognize the officer they faced.

After some debate, the group had agreed to all go to the local police station. Now, Buffy and Spike were in the forefront, while the rest of the gang stood together with confused looks on their faces.

"Spike. For the love of all that's holy, never call me Pea --" the man that was Angel/Peaches began irritably. His eyes then widened to gigantic proportions when he saw the motley group. "Wait. Spike? In Sunnydale? Liz? You two know each other? And there're … um, other … people with you?"

Buffy was staring at the man with an odd look. Spike was curious, yet ready to burst into laughter. Everyone else was scrambling for answers.

"Is he a fairy-thing or a fruit?" Xander whispered loudly.

"Xander!" Willow shushed. Then she continued thoughtfully, "Angels aren't types of fairies. Technically, they're --"

Tara laid a gentle hand on her girlfriend's arm, and Willow suddenly stopped herself and blushed. "Oh, right. Not relevant. I'll just be quiet now."

"You dated Buffy!" Anya suddenly burst out, staring at Angel.

The others gave her an odd look.

"What!" she protested, "He did!"

Angel craned his head around to see who spoke. "Oh. Hi, Anya. Nice to see y --"

His greeting was shortened, though, when Buffy broke out of her trance-like state, marched up to him, and punched him squarely in the nose. "That was for leaving!" she declared. Then she stalked out of the building.

Most of the group started to go after her, but Anya stopped them. "Give her a couple minutes," she said, suddenly serious.

They exchanged glances, but agreed with her.

Angel held his freely bleeding nose, exclaiming 'ow!' when Spike cuffed sharply him in the back of the head.

"Wha' did you do to her?" Spike scowled.

"Nothing!" Angel protested. "We met and dated for a while in L.A., but that was about two or three years ago."

"Then what?" Although the blonde was slightly shorter than Angel, he was no less intimidating. Especially when he was angry.

"Erm …" Angel looked uncomfortable. "We broke up."

"Actually," Anya cut in, "he just disappeared one day. No note or anything. Buffy was depressed about it for a while before she realized she could do better than a jerk like you."

Angel managed to look sorry and offended at the same time.

"I'm going to go after her," Anya told the group.

Xander squeezed her hand reassuringly, and then let go. Willow looked as if she were about to protest or join Anya, but thought better of it.

oOoOo

Anya stepped outside the police department and found her friend around the corner.

"Hey, Buffy," she hugged the blonde, "it'll be ok …"

"Buffy sniffled a little. "Thanks, Ahn. I guess I just didn't ever expect to see him again."

"I know. And I remember how awful that time was for you, with him being the first person you actually fell in love with. It'll get better, though." Anya could be sympathetic when she really wanted to be.

Buffy smiled a little. "Thanks," she repeated, hugging her friend back.

"If it makes you feel any better, your friends are probably torturing him in there right now."

The two laughed at the not-too-farfetched thought.

oOoOo

Meanwhile, Angel received another, meaner, hit in the head. Then he got a lecture.

"I have no idea who you are, really," Dawn began, "but how could you just _leave_ Buffy like that! God! Don't you have a sense of …"

"Who's she, again?" Angel whispered to Spike, glancing fearfully at the ranting brunette teenager.

"Dawn, Buffy's sister," the blonde took pity on the officer. "Don' let her looks fool you; you wouldn' want ta cross her."

Angel nodded.

Dawn eventually had to stop for a breath, so Spike put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "'S alright, Bit. Think we've beat up Peaches here enough for now," he said with a maliciously amused light in his eyes. "Let 'im finish his side of the story."

Angel gulped as the remaining gang stood together and glared at him.

"I was getting in too deep with some of my, um, dealings in L.A.," he protested by way of explanation. "I had to get out and get some place new."

"Don't you work _for_ the law?" Xander pointed out.

Spike laughed outright at that. "Tha' doesn' mean anything to him. The only person Peaches looks out for is 'imself."

"Stop calling me that!" Angel growled. "And you don't know what you're talking about!"

"Spike, how do you two know each other?" Willow interjected, trying to stop the inevitable fight.

The two continued their glaring contest, but Spike answered Willow's question.

"Met 'im down in L.A. one summer," Spike explained. "'Bout three years ago."

Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait. You knew Buffy all this time, and you never told me?" he directed at Angel. Yet another cuff to the poor man's head. "Bloody wanker!"

"How was I supposed to know she was the girl you were looking for? There're plenty of blondes in L.A. and you told me her name was Buffy!"

"Her name _is_ Buffy, you brainless twit! And I showed you a picture!" Spike countered.

"Oh." Angel paused for a moment. "Well, in my defense, I knew her as Liz. And was I sober when I saw the picture?"

Spike rolled his eyes.

"As fascinating as this all is," Xander interrupted, "we need a little more explanation, if you please. Especially from tall, dark, and forehead over there."

Spike and Dawn snickered. Angel decided it would be safer to ignore the remark.

"Yeah, mate, you still haven't told us exactly why you skipped out on Buffy and wha' you're doing here in Sunnyhell."

Angel sighed. "When I was a teen, I ran with a mean crowd – almost a gang. When I got older, I finally wised up and managed to get out of it, and into law enforcement, but I got roped back into helping with littler things. I didn't wake up until what they were doing had completely crossed the line of illegal, so I sabotaged as much as I could --"

"And now you're here hiding?" Dawn guessed.

"Something like that," came the cryptic reply.

"That was still a completely shitty --"

"Dawn, language!"

Dawn continued, " -- thing that you did to my sister."

"And I feel bad about it now." Angel agreed, still holding his nose and his head.

"Well, good, 'cause she needs your help with something," Dawn continued.

Angel looked curious.

Willow took up the story. "See, this is what's been happening …."

* * *

Umm ... reviews are pretty!

le faye


	12. Whisper

A/N: I'm posting this (against my better judgement) because if anyone out there still remembers this story, I figure that it wasn't fair of me to leave you guys for so long … still, I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on this …

And, yes, I realize it's short. I'm seriously working on it.

From at least two months ago, thanks spk, pinkyblue-ice, and Moonjava for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I am the evil genius, Joss, and I control the characters of BtVS! Muhahahahaha! … Or I'm just a dementedperson sitting at home with illusions of grandeur. I still get to borrow the characters to play with them , though … hehehe …

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Much appreciated. Much loved.

Previously: Buffy's stalker gets closer, and Angel – who is revealed to be Buffy's ex and now a policeman – gets involved in investigating …

* * *

The car ride home was filled with a deafening silence, each of the friends too deep in their own thoughts to make conversation. Even Xander's quip relating Buffy's rented minivan to the Scooby Doo Mystery Mobile failed to bring anything but wan smiles to their faces. 

After the group had thoroughly intimidated Angel, told their story, and gotten his promise to investigate as soon as he could, they filed out of the police station to find Buffy waiting. In a un-Buffy-like way, she had opted not to face her ex after the initial punching, though no one wished to penetrate her cloud of broodiness to question her on it.

On the way to the parking lot, they'd also dispelled Xander's suspicions that Angel was the stalker – Anya vouched for him and Spike added that 'the great poof doesn' have the persistence nor the brains for somethin' like tha'.' The latter had earned a small laugh from every one of the friends except Buffy – which worried Spike. He made a mental note to talk with her later.

The guys were dropped off at their apartment (Spike temporarily living with Xander because he said the house was now so infused with estrogen, it was scary) and by the time the girls had arrived home, it was already past nightfall.

None of them really had the energy to prepared a dinner, so they each scrounged around the kitchen and heated up leftovers of their choice. Almost as if the events of the last twenty-four hours had caused her to become a zombie, Buffy walked around with a listless look and ate only out of necessity. While the others remained quiet, they still noticed her behavior.

"Buffy?" Willow asked gently when 'dinner' had ended. "Are you ok? Do you want to talk? 'Cause we're all here --"

The blonde smiled half-heartedly. "Thanks, Wills. I think I'll go to bed, though. It's been a long day."

No one said anything as she walked upstairs, although the four girls exchanged looks. Soon enough, they followed their friend, and each went to their own room for the night …

oOoOo

Dawn woke with a start. Rubbing her eyes blearily, she glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It read 3:24 a.m. She heaved a sigh and flopped back down onto the bed. The teenager had no idea what had woken her, but she lay still for a minute, trying to find her way back to slumber.

That's when she heard it. A quiet sniffle. At first, Dawn thought her ears were playing tricks on her, but it came again. Knowing now that she wouldn't fall asleep, she pulled back the covers and sat up, listening intently.

Hmmm … she was closest to Buffy's room …

Quietly, Dawn opened her door. Padding down the hall, she slipped into her sister's bedroom.

"Buff?" she whispered.

The blonde froze for a minute, then a tearstained face turned towards her.

Buffy swiped at her tears and sniffed again. "Did I wake you, Dawnie? I'm sorry. Go back to sleep."

"What's wrong?" Dawn ignored her sister's words.

"Nothing," Buffy snuffled, attempting a watery smile.

Dawn walked over and crawled under the covers, sitting in bed with Buffy.

"If nothing was wrong, you wouldn't be crying, so --"

"I wasn't crying!"

Dawn looked at her sister in that half-amused, half-disbelieving way that reminded Buffy of Spike. She colored a little at her blatant lie.

"So," Dawn emphasized, "Spill."

And that simple word was enough to make the blonde talk.

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know exactly what it is …"

"Does it have to do with Angel?"

Buffy winced. No beating around the bush with that one. "Partly," she answered truthfully. "But it's just been everything lately …"

"So start with Angel."

Shrug again. "You probably already get what happened. I guess, he was my first love and all, and we fell apart."

"Do you still love him?"

The blonde surprised herself when she found the answer to that question. "Um … no," she replied dazedly. And she could feel that it was true. "It's mostly the shock of seeing him again."

Dawn suddenly grinned. "I could almost feel sorry for him, though. The way we laid into him this afternoon …" Her grin got wider. "Especially when you punched him."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, guess I had some suppressed anger after all …"

"So he wasn't why you were crying?"

Her sister shook her head. "I think I've been over him for a while. I just realized it today."

"Then, what?"

"No reason, really …" Buffy grew grave, suddenly. "Dawnie, I'm scared," she whispered.

She sounded so lost and young, Dawn instinctively pulled her into a hug.

"Don't be. We'll figure it out," she reassured, knowing what her sister meant.

"I should--"

"Nuh-uh, Buffy. No playing hero and running away again. We've already decided that we'd be stronger together – all in Sunnydale."

"What would I do without you, sis?" Buffy smiled.

Dawn snorted. "Still beats me how you survived L.A. without me. At least you found Anya to keep you on track."

Then the two shared a laugh and slowly drifted off to sleep.

OOoOo

"AAHHHHH!" Willow's shriek pierce the air, causing everyone to rush to her room. It was later the next afternoon, and the redhead had headed straight for her sanctuary after arriving home from school.

"Wills? What happened?" Dawn was the closest, and first to get there. Tara then came running up the stairs. She pulled her girlfriend into a comforting embrace, trying to shield her from what had upset her so much.

When Buffy and Anya drifted in, the other two had noticed what had made the redhead scream. Dawn stood, covering her mouth, eyes wide. Tara had turned away, with Willow's face still pressed against her shoulder.

"Guys?" Buffy asked. "What's wrong?"

Dawn pointed to what was on Willow's desk wordlessly.

"Oh, holy penis …" Anya said when she looked. No one laughed at her strange choice in expletives, though.

Willow and Tara's goldfish, which had all once swam happily in their small aquarium, now lay lifeless in a plastic bag on an envelope. The fish tank seemed to mock them with it's emptiness. To a passerby, it could look as if the fish were only in hiding.

Even Tara, who was usually the most levelheaded, couldn't seem to bring her self to look at the fish.

"I-I f-forgot and I l-left the window open this morning," Willow said shakily. "A-and I found things like this just now.

"God, that is just sick," Dawn breathed softly.

"I'm so sorry, Willow," Buffy said in horror, eyes still riveted to the desk.

They were all at a loss for what to do.

Finally, Tara suggested softly, "W-we could h-hold a funeral for them in the backyard later…"

Willow nodded frantically and numbly. Another awkward silence settled.

"I'll call Xander and Spike," Anya finally offered.

"D-don't forget A-angel. T-there might be some clue-finding to do here." The shocked had worn off the redhead a little.

Everyone stood around helplessly when Anya left to make the calls.

There was more silence. Dawn's voice seemed oddly too loud when she asked, "Should we move" –she gestured helplessly at the fish – "And get the note?"

"L-let's wait a little while, Dawnie," Tara said. "Until the guys get here."

No one protested. They were all eager to put off actual contact with the dead pets as long as they could.

Buffy smiled encouragingly at Willow, but it didn't really reach her eyes. "C'mon," she said, tugging on her friend's arm. "We'll go wait downstairs instead of waiting around here."

The redhead allowed her friend to lead her out of the room, with Tara's arm still around her shoulder. Dawn trailed after them.

The fact that the stalker had done this in broad daylight was not lost on any of them.

To them, it was an act of murder.

And it suddenly made the scary possibilities they had been trying not to think of all the more possible …

* * *

ummm ... does anyone still care?

le faye


	13. Bring Me to Life

A/N: I think this chapterhas somewhatdeviated from the main plot, but I think it's necessary and still with the sense-making. Tell me if I'm completely deluded ...

Thanks to funkydevil206, axlgroupie91, Serrafina, and CrumbleViolet for caring.

Disclaimer: So not mine. I'm just borrowing them. Please don't sue …

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Much appreciated. Much loved.

Previously: In some twisted, strange stalker-logic, Willow's goldfish are killed by Buffy's follower …

* * *

The thought (although entirely inappropriate for the moment) flashed though Buffy's head that there was more emotion here than at Hank's funeral. 

The girls had sent Spike and Xander upstairs to get the fish and the envelope. And with the seriousness of the moment, the two hadn't protested before giving in.

The envelope proved to contain nothing more than a Polaroid of the fish, alive. This had caused another onslaught of tears from Willow. Angel then stopped by and took it away (along with the other things they had gotten so far). He didn't stay long, though, instinctively knowing that he wasn't quite accepted into the group yet.

Her friends had sadly buried their beloved pet goldfish, and now everyone sat congregated in the living room.

"What do we do now?" Dawn asked in a small voice.

No one had an answer to that, so Buffy blurted out the first thing that came to mind, launching the oddest conversation. "Hey, Ahn? Do I still have to worry about any current work project right now?"

Anya appeared to have memorized her client's schedule. "Nope, not currently."

The others looked at them, thinking this was an unfit subject to be discussing at the current moment.

"I guess I should be here and lay low for a while anyways," Buffy admitted. "Especially with …"

No one had to ask her what she meant.

"So this is your vacation," Anya suggested. "You can afford it right now. And, you can spin some story to the press about reconciliation with your family."

"Sitting around, waiting for a potentially dangerous stalker to show his face – and possibly hurt my 'reconciled family' – isn't my idea of a vacation," Buffy returned dryly, knowing Anya didn't mean to be callous with her comment.

"Is the publicity all you think about?" Willow suddenly asked.

The group looked at the usually tranquil redhead with surprise, but Anya replied levelly, "I still have to worry about business."

Willow looked at her for a minute, then walked out of the room. Immediately, several people made a move to go after her.

Anya, of all people, stopped them. "Don't. Let her be by herself for a while," she said. "This afternoon was upsetting, and" – she motioned for Buffy to come over – "I think she thinks she's not your best friend anymore," she finished in a loud whisper in the blonde's ear.

Despite the fact that they now faced another problem, the group smiled at her attempt at confidentiality.

"That's silly," Buffy protested. "Why would she think that."

"Because she wasn't the one to talk to you after the Angel thing yesterday," Anya replied promptly.

"A-and because Willow missed out on part of your life," Tara added, blushing when all eyes turned to her.

The accurate observation sank slowly into the small group. Xander smiled proudly at his new girlfriend, happy that she was being so understanding – by now, he already knew that she could also be easily offended.

"So, give her a while, then talk to her," Anya told Buffy.

oOoOo

Buffy found Willow sitting out on the back porch. She lingered by the kitchen doorway, suddenly unsure of what to say to her friend.

Willow suddenly sighed. "I know that wasn't really fair of me. I'll go in and make with the apologizing in a minute," she said dejectedly.

Buffy walked out and sat down next to the redhead. "I'm not out here to scold you or anything," she explained. "You're probably a bit too old for that – and the fact that you're usually better with the mature act-age that I am sorta makes that a null point …"

A small smile appeared on Willow's face as she listened to her friend's rambling.

"You're not losing me, you know," Buffy abruptly changed the subject, bringing a confused frown to Willow's brow.

"Wha'?"

"I'm still your best friend," Buffy assured her.

"I know that," Willow said defensively.

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Great, now Tara won't even keep a secret," Willow sulked.

"Hey! I have powers of observation, too, missy," Buffy exclaimed. "And it's completely not the point that that's Anya theory. Tara wouldn't betray your trust like that."

Willow blushed, and then turned indignant. "You guys have theories about me now?"

"No," Buffy replied firmly. "They were just pointing something out to me that I've been too self-absorbed to see. Yesterday, and before, I was so completely wrapped up in the Buffy-drama, that I've taken you all for granted."

Willow opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Buffy sat down besides her.

"Yeah, I have," the blonde continued. "Coming back wasn't a publicity stunt. Honestly, I didn't really want to at first 'cause I was scared of how you'd all react, but now I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad you did, too," Willow smiled. "It's not really the same without you."

Buffy gave her friend a one-armed hug. "We good?"

"Yeah, we're good," Willow confirmed.

"Good." Buffy stood up. "I'm gonna head back in. You coming?"

"In a minute," Willow said. "Can you ask Anya to come out here?"

"Umm … yeah, sure. Just, don't kill each other, Wills. Having dead best friends is so not of the good."

Willow smiled. "I promise."

oOoOo

The gang all pretended not to eavesdrop, but somehow, everyone had found an excuse to be in the kitchen. They grew worried as it remained quiet. Just as Xander was about to suggest that they go check on the two, they heard Willow explode with laughter.

Surprisingly, Willow and Anya found that they did have common interests. Namely, this consisted of swapping embarrassing stories of their mutual friend.

Suddenly, the blonde heard Willow say, "Oh! You have to hear about what Buffy did when she was four …"

Buffy's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights, and she rushed out the back door. Everyone followed her.

"Willow!" she exclaimed, clamping a hand over her friend's mouth. "Don't!"

The redhead looked mischievous. "Why not?"

"Because … because …" she couldn't find a valid reason.

"Ooo! I want to hear it!" Dawn butt in. "I wasn't even born yet, then."

"Hey!" Buffy objected. But she was outnumbered.

The somber mood of earlier disintegrated as everyone teased each other and laughed.

Dawn summed it up when she joked, "Everyone's laughing, and Buffy's face is bright red. All's right with the world."

In their minds, though, the friends still knew that not _all_ was right yet.

oOoOo

Nightfall found the entire gang still congregated at the girls' house, and Spike on the back porch smoking.

"You just broke rule number eleven: no being outside alone after dark," Buffy joked as she stepped outside to join him.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Since when did we have rules?"

"Since …" she suddenly trailed off.

Mentally, he cursed himself for bring up the subject, then tried to lighten the mood again. "Well, you're with me, so 'm not alone now," he observed.

Buffy sat besides him and smiled wanly. "Yeah, guess not …"

"Don't let this take over your life, Buffy," Spike commented suddenly.

The blonde frowned, knowing to which recent events he was referring. "It's sorta hard not --"

Spike cut in, "'M not sayin' ignore it and pretend the creep isn't there, 'cause he is and it's as scary as 'ell, but you still have to live."

Buffy sighed. "We haven't thought of any solutions, and I feel so guilty for dragging you all into this …"

"Since when 'aven't we helped each other?" Spike asked rhetorically. "It's our problem. And after what happened earlier, we all needed to forget and laugh a little. We'll get through this."

During his short speech, Buffy had leaned her head on his shoulder; something she used to do when they talk when they were younger. Now, without thinking about what she was saying, Buffy said drowsily, "You sound like you've had experience."

"Maybe I have," he muttered. It wasn't so low that she didn't catch it, though.

Buffy lifted her head to stare at him. Then she whispered, "_You've_ been stalked?"

"Yeah," was all he said.

The two sat in silence for a while before he continued. "You've been buggin' me to tell you what changed me from poncy William to Spike, right?"

"I haven't 'bugged' you!" She protested. "And William wasn't 'poncy.' Besides, you're still William."

"You said I was completely different," Spike argued.

"You're still you, though," Buffy decided. "Now stop stalling and tell me what happened."

"I fell in love" – Buffy held her breath – "or, at least, I thought I did." She let go of the lungful of air, not sure why she'd been holding it in the first place, or why she felt relieved now.

"I met Dru in college, in London," Spike continued, "and for some reason, she noticed me. She was really the first girl that ever did – in a non-friend capacity, of course. We hit it off, began dating, and she became my 'dark princess.'"

Spike laughed at the face Buffy made when she heard his nickname for his former girlfriend.

"Anyways, I don't think she was ever very stable, mentally, but I was so enamored, I didn't care. I took care of her. After we'd been together a while, I heard rumors that she'd been cheating on me. I ignored them, but then I caught her with another bloke.

"The first time, I forgave her, but then it happened again … and again. The last time, she told me that I wasn't strong enough, tough enough. And that made me mad enough to go all 'bad ass' for a while," here, Spike almost smiled at the memories. "We hadn't run into each other at all after we'd broken up, but Dru show up one day and decides that she wants me back. I tol' her that we'd never get back together, and that led to the stalkin'. Now, I think she's bein' treated in a mental asylum, an' of course, I left the mother country and came here ..."

The friends were quiet as Spike ended his story. Then, to break the silence, he added, "Not so dramatic, 'f you think 'bout it."

That made Buffy chuckle. "Thank you, for telling me," she said as she hugged him.

"Well, there wouldn' have been any other way to get you to stop asking me now, would there?" Spike asked wryly.

"Shut up!" She laughed, punching his arm lightly. Then she leaned back into his side.

They sat quietly and contently against each other, looking out into the night. Both were still not quite ready to face however else their friendship would change in the future, having barely finished learning their past.

But some how, to Buffy, things looked a bit more hopeful tonight than before.

She smiled happily at that thought.

* * *

You know what ... pretty please?

le faye


	14. Taking Over Me

A/N: Severe writer's block plus RL pressure: so not of the good. Sorta short chapter this time, but on the bright side, I've got a semi-plan to the end now. Thanks for sticking with me, though …

Thanks to bookwormfromak, kim, phantomgurl, jay, pinky-blue ice, Baby Girl Gellar-Green, and funkydevil206 for all the comments …

Disclaimer: So not mine. I'm just borrowing them. Please don't sue …

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Much appreciated. Much loved.

Previously: Willow and Anya work out their differences, and Buffy learns about Dru …

* * *

"I can't stop by long, I just wanted to tell you that we haven't really found a lot," Angel explained apologetically. "Your stalker's been carefully about keeping his … messages untraceable." 

It was the next morning, and the gang of friends was gathered at the house – Spike and Xander having stayed over night because they didn't want to leave the girls alone. Buffy, Willow, and Anya protested a little about being able to protect themselves, but really, they all took comfort in each other's presence. Angel arrived bright and early to deliver the news – or lack thereof – on the notes.

He now saw the group's disappointed faces. "But we are still examining all the evidence, making sure nothing was missed," he tried to reassure them.

"Thanks, Angel," Buffy was the first to speak, attempting a smile.

His face softened. "No problem."

They stood awkwardly on the doorstep, unsure of what to say next, when the walkie-talkie at Angel's waist crackled. He conferred with it for a moment before turning back to them. "I'm sorry; I have to get to Crawford St. now. Apparently, one of the new families there's just been robbed and they're convinced the old mansion is haunted. I'll talk to you when I get more news, 'k?"

Buffy nodded, and the rest of the gang said their good-byes.

"So," Willow began brightly once Buffy closed the front door, "what should we do today?"

Everyone's gazes shifted awkwardly around the room, no one really sure what to say. The tension of yesterday had returned, and they were all more spooked than they'd like to admit.

Finally, Tara suggested, "M-maybe we should do what we normally do. W-we st-still have work, and Willow and Dawnie still have school."

"I can always call in and tell them we have a family emergency," Dawn volunteered, eager for the chance to miss school.

"No, I think Tara's right," Buffy started slowly. "We can't just stop our lives because of this. And you can't afford to miss any more classes, Dawnie."

"Man, not even potentially life-threatening situations can save me from the high school hellhole," Dawn groused as she went upstairs to get ready.

Spike saw Buffy stiffen, and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She didn't mean it, luv," he whispered. Buffy nodded imperceptibly.

"Ok, so I guess that means off to the land of heavy machinery and hard helmets for me," Xander said. Then he called up the stairs, "Hurry up, Dawnie, or we're going to be late!"

"I'm hurrying!" the answer drifted down.

Anya had already whipped out her cell phone, and Tara and Willow were busy confirming plans with each other. Soon, the house was filled with the usual morning bustle.

"What about you, luv?" Spike asked Buffy. "Any plans for the day?"

"Hmm, not so much. Just take whatever comes, I guess. You?"

"Probably write a bit, then swing by the Magic Box to bug the hell outta my old man," Spike planned.

"Oh, gosh, I've completely forgot about seeing Giles. He has a shop?" Buffy asked with surprise.

"Yeah, part of the midlife crisis deal. Didn't fancy being school librarian so much anymore, especially 'cause they use computers more."

Buffy laughed because it sounded just like Giles to dislike technology. "Mind if I tag along with you later? To the shop?"

"Not at all, pet," Spike smiled.

And everyone went off in separate directions to begin their day.

oOoOo

"Hey, Giles!" Buffy went over to hug her surrogate father.

"Hello, Buffy," he greeted. "Finally found time to come visit the old geezer?" His smiled and joking tone belied the harshness of his words.

"Sorry, Giles," she apologized. "Sorta got caught up in things. You know, with seeing everyone again and all …"

"Yes, it's quite alright. I'm just glad you're here."

Spike poked his head into the back room. "Oh, I see how it is. She comes back and you forget all about your only son."

"Believe me when I say there's no possible way to forget you, Will," Giles shot back. "I've tried."

Spike clutched at his chest. "You wound me, da'."

Giles grinned. "So, Buffy, have you been keeping my overdramatic son out of trouble?"

"Yep," she laughed. "Make sure he scrubs behind the ears and all, like a good little boy."

"'Ey! I resent that!" Spike protested as the two teamed up against him. "'Sides, I'm the least of her worries right now."

Buffy's face fell, and Spike instantly regretted putting his foot in his mouth yet again.

"What's wrong?" Giles' brow wrinkled in concern.

"Nothing," Buffy was back to a half-attempted, shaky smile. "Just having a little problem with this guy following me. Probably just an over-enthusiastic fan or something."

Giles cleaned his glasses. "Oh, good lord, Buffy, a stalker is not something to be taken lightly. None of you have been hurt, have you?"

His look promised pain for someone if the answer to that question was 'yes.'

"No, we're all fine. Just a bit shaken," she replied.

"We're doin' all we can to find the guy, da'," Spike added. "Gone to the cops and everything."

"Have you considered a security system?" Giles pressed. "I know the one we installed in the Magic Box proved to be handy when we caught a trio of boys trying to shoplift."

Buffy tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hm, that's a good idea, Giles. Thanks. But enough about that. I want to hear about what you've been up to."

"You sure you wanna know 'bout the midlife crisis, pet?" Spike asked. The playful mood from earlier returned.

"Will, I am _not_ having a midlife crisis," Giles complained. "One bloody new car and a change in occupation and you young ones think I'm getting too old."

"We never thought you weren't old, da'," Spike answered glibly.

Buffy giggled as she listened to the two men banter and show her around the shop.

Right now, they were looking for an afternoon of normalcy.

The rest of the world could wait.

* * *

say something, pretty please ... 

le faye


	15. Just to Find You

A/N: Yay! Only a week between updates. Umm … sorta Spuffy-centric chapter, not much action …

Thanks to KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, Buffycoo999, spk, kim, Serrafina, Stawberry Girl, pinky-blue ice, and funkydevil206 for reviewing …

Disclaimer: Bow down to Joss and his evil geniuses … not mine ….

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Much appreciated. Much loved.

Previously: The police department haven't discovered anything. The gang goes about their day as normal, and Buffy and Spike visit Giles …

* * *

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Dawn watched the blonde pace back and forth.

Buffy stopped for a moment and sighed. "I dunno, Dawnie…"

Willow looked up from her laptop and tilted her head questioningly. "What are you so worried about? Everything's been going better this past week. There hasn't been a single you-know-what from you-know-who."

The redhead had taken to stepping around any reference to whoever was terrorizing them, but her friend still understood what she meant.

"I know," Buffy answered, "but I can't shake the feeling that something wrong's about to happen …"

Anya walked into the living room, effectively cutting their conversation short. "Hey, you guys. Xander and I were wondering if you'd want to triple date with us tonight."

"Maybe that was the crisis you were looking for," Willow quipped to Buffy. Buffy hid a smile behind her hand while Anya frowned, but chose to ignore that comment.

"Yes, I've noticed that you have been more repressed – sexually and otherwise – lately, and decided a night out would all of us good," she smiled proudly at her explanation.

Willow blushed, but grinned and joked sarcastically, "That's a persuasive argument."

"Don't laugh," Buffy smiled, "she's won many a client with her talk."

"Stop avoiding the question," Anya pouted. "Come with us."

Buffy turned to her. "Um, in case you haven't noticed, it's not like I have a boyfriend."

"That's perfect, 'cause Spike doesn't, either," Willow immediately jumped at the chance of setting her friends up. "Both of you guys can come with us."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You're going?"

Willow shrugged. "Yeah, why not? Tara and I haven't been out for a while, and I'm pretty sure she's free tonight. C'mon Buffy, it'll be fun …"

Buffy was beginning to cave. "What about Dawn? I don't want her home all alone."

All eyes shifted to the girl.

"Fine, but you guys owe me," Dawn huffed. "I'll just go sleep over at Janice's or something – leave you lovebirds to your fun."

"Hey," Buffy protested. "I don't_ have_ a boyfriend."

Her sister smirked. "_You_ get to spend the night with a certain still-clueless, bleached-blonde Brit. Make a move, before someone else snatches him up."

"Dawnie --"

"Really, go have some fun," Dawn grinned. "You need it."

Buffy rolled her eyes, but smiled back. "You sure you'll be ok?"

"Positive," the teenager said firmly.

"Great!" enthused Anya. "It's settled, then."

oOoOo

The two men stood awkwardly in the Summer's living room, waiting for the girls to get ready. Dawn had already been safely driven to her friend's house, where – before going in – she winked at Spike and told him to make sure Buffy had a good time that night. Now …

"Remind me again why I agreed to come along?" Spike questioned Xander.

"Umm, so yours truly wouldn't be completely overwhelmed by gossip and girl talk?" Xander offered.

Spike sighed. "How did I ever end up being your best mate? 'Ell, how did I ever end up bein' your only guy mate?"

Bu before Xander could protest, or Spike could further lament his fate, they saw their friends descend the stairs.

Willow and Tara had their arms linked, and were smiling at each other, while Anya immediately went over to her boyfriend. Spike took one look at Buffy and decided that whatever happened that evening would be worth the trouble.

"You look beautiful, luv," he said to her softly once she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Buffy blushed, but returned cheekily, "You don't look so bad, yourself."

Spike smirked, but before he could say anything, they were ushered out the door by Anya, who grinned knowingly.

"So, where to tonight?" Spike asked curiously.

"Dinner," Anya planned, "then we'll see …"

"'K, then, let's go," Xander said.

oOoOo

Dinner passed by uneventfully, but somehow, the gang ended up at the Bronze.

"Xander and I will go get the drinks," Anya announced, once they found a table.

"We will?" Xander was confused. Anya glared at him pointedly and elbowed him in an unexpected show of tact.

"Oh, right, we will," Xander quickly amended.

"Oh! And Tara and I will help!" Willow volunteered. "Buffy, Spike, want anything?"

"Diet Coke, please," Buffy requested.

"No thanks, Red," Spike declined.

Buffy watched amusedly as the four filed towards the bar.

"Get the feeling we're being set up, pet?" Spike asked loudly over the music.

"It was a bit obvious when Anya insisted we sit next to each other during dinner," Buffy laughed.

The grinned at each other.

A long silence followed, and finally, Buffy suddenly blurted, "Would … would it be so bad if we were? Being set up, I mean."

She mentally smacked herself for saying something that could potentially ruin their newly rekindled friendship, but still glance out of the corner of her eye for his reaction.

"No …" Spike ventured slowly, "it wouldn't …"

Buffy smiled a little and pressed further. "Really?"

He looked at her, then decided to throw caution to the wind. "Yeah … 'cause I like you, luv. I have for bloody ever."

This time, Buffy's smile was wide. "I like you, too," she confessed softly.

Spike smirked back.

They sat quietly for a while, unsure of what their next move should be, after making their confessions, but happy that they did so.

Finally Spike asked, "Dance with me, luv?" Gone was the shy, uncertain self of a minute ago, with his confident, cocky persona back in place.

Buffy nodded, and they walked to the dance floor together. Then she asked, "If you've like me for so long, why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you?" Spike countered.

"Because I didn't know how you felt," Buffy protested as they swayed to the music.

Spike raised an eyebrow, "Well, I didn't know how _you_ felt."

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him childishly, then quickly retracted it.

They smiled as they fell back into bantering, glad that some things didn't change...

oOoOo

Back at the table …

"That was Dawn," Willow explained as she ended her call and saw everyone watching her questioningly. "She wanted to know if Buffy and Spike have 'managed to realized that they're made for each other,' yet."

The group of friends laughed.

"Glad to see that they've finally come to their senses," Anya voiced what they were all thinking as they watched the two blondes in question dance.

"Took them long enough," Tara quipped absent-mindedly.

Everyone glanced at her, mildly surprised at the usually quiet girl. She grinned at them mischievously, and they all smiled a bemused smile. Willow wrapped her arm more tightly around her girlfriend as they settled back, content with the way the night turned out …

* * *

yay! reviews are pretty! (no, i don't know what i'm on; but you can't have any, so there :P)

le faye


	16. Going Under

A/N: hehe (looks apologetic) … i'm sorta inconsistent, aren't i? well, we're almost to the end …

Thanks to KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart and Buffycoo999 for commenting!

Disclaimer: not mine.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yay! Reviews are happy. :D

Previously: The stalker has been suspiciously absent, Buffy and Spike finally acknowledge that they maybe sorta like each other ….

* * *

Dawn stared at the couple tangled together on the couch with a sort of queasy fascination. It was like being unable to help looking at a car wreck, she thought, if a car wreck could be so sickeningly sweet and lovey-dovey.

Xander looked a little ill, also. "Why did we set them up, again?" he asked his girl friends.

Anya cuffed the back of his head lightly. "Because they're sweet together and if we hadn't helped them sooner, they would've exploded from all that sexual repression and I wouldn't be able to rely on Buffy for the larger part of my income anymore," she explained matter-of-factly.

Tara and Willow winced at the imagery, but didn't bother to correct her.

"Well, I wish they'd be 'sweet' in a more private place," Dawn groused. Now that the problem of getting her sister and surrogate brother together was solved, she felt compelled to complain with the complaining skills only a teenager would have. "Preferably somewhere where no one knows who I am."

She glance around at the rather dead Bronze. "Thank God it's a slow Tuesday," she added.

"Well," Tara said weakly, looking away when Buffy stuck her tongue further down Spike's throat, "they're … happy, now … I think."

Out of the corner of their eyes, the gang saw the two blondes break apart, but keep their heads close together, talking and laughing softly. Suddenly, Buffy got up andcome over to them.

"Hey, guys," she said cheerfully, "I think I'm gonna go to the restroom. I'll be back in a minute."

She walked away with a bounce in her step.

"O.k., is it just me, or does she seem really happy to be going to the bathroom?" Dawn wondered out loud.

A moment later, she received her explanation. Spike stalked off in the general direction Buffy went, with the brief, absent-mindedreason that he was going out back for a smoke.

"They're going to have sex," Anya announced brightly, before Xander could clap a hand over her mouth.

Everyone at the table 'eep-ed' before looking away and trying to pretend they didn't just hear those scarring words.

"Must scrubbed out my ear," Dawn chanted before remembering that she couldn't go to the bathroom to wash her ears on the off chance that … nope, not going there.

"You know what?" Willow abruptly squeaked out, "I think we should dance. Tara? Dawnie? Up for some dancing-goodness with no mention whatsoever of Buffy or Spike or whatever they might be doing?" She rambled on.

"Yup," Xander agreed. "Dancing is of the good. Dancing of the vertical kind, I mean, and not the hori – and here I am digging myself further into my hole. Let's go dance, Anya." He grabbed his girlfriend's hand and pulled her to her feet.

Willow dragged the other two onto the dance floor before protests could be made, and they all settled happily into their land of denial.

oOoOo

"Mmhh."

The two's mouths were once again fused and they were wrapped around each other in the dim hallway.

It was hard to believe how quickly they had gone from shyly confessing that they liked each other to being in a permanent lip-lock. Still, they'd just felt _right_, though Buffy as her mind went to a happy place. It was like one of those whirlwind romances that you always heard about, but never expected to experience.

"God, luv, you're killing me 'ere," Spike moaned as quietly as he could. Buffy smiled coyly against his skin and continued tonibble onhis neck. It felt like they had forever here tonight.

A loud clunk, followed by what was a hoarse scream penetrated the fog they had wrapped themselves in, though. It had come from the back alley.

"Mmm. Ignore it," Buffy said drowsily, when Spike began to pull away. "It wasn't anything."

Reluctantly, they came apart.

"Better see," Spike reasoned halfheartedly, "in case someone really is 'urt. Be back in a mo', 'k, luv?"

The mood broken, Buffy nodded and he slipped outside. She stood there, fidgeting, for a while with a growing feeling of apprehension.

Minutes passed and still he didn't come back. Unable to stand waiting by herself anymore, Buffy warily followed Spike into the alley. She saw no one in the gloomy light.

"Spike?" Buffy called out. She looked slowly to her left and right, but there was only darkness.

"Spike?" she tried again.

Too caught up in her growing panic,Buffy failed to her the noise behind her until it was too late. She whirled around in time to notice the wooden plank raised over her head and being brought down to strike her, but not in time to voice the scream that died in her throat.

The last thought she remembered was, _I'm seeing a ghost …_

Then the world faded away …

* * *

heh ... cliffhanger :D i realize it's sorta short, but i couldn't find a better place to end the chapter. review to see what happenes next ...

le faye


	17. It Ends Here, Tonight

A/N: yay. Here it is. Hopefully, people still remember what happened last …

Funkydevil206, spikegothicchick, fee-kh, Serrafina, Wentzie72, KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, and kim thanks for the reviews and the patience. :D

Disclaimer: not mine.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yay! Reviews are happy. :D

Previously: On a night out with their friends at the Bronze, Buffy and Spike get knocked unconscious in the back alley …

* * *

Buffy woke groggily, her head feeling as if there were a vice clamped on it. _Where am I?_ she wondered. She tried to shift her weight, but found that her hands and feet were tied. Last she remembered, she was … 

Her eyes widened as the events of before came back to her. They had been at the Bronze … and she … and Spike!

Buffy sudden snapped to attention and looked around her.

They were in a small dusty room with no furniture. Spike lay next to her, still unconscious.

"Spike? Spike!" she hissed his name, trying to wake him. She wiggled over to sit next to him, trying to shake his shoulder.

"Spike, wake up!" Buffy jounced him again, and was rewarded with a pained groan as he came to.

"Pet, what're you doin'?" he asked groggily.

"Spike, please, get up …" The sound of tears in her voice told him more than anything that something was out of place. Buffy rarely ever cried.

"'Ell, luv, what happened? What are we dong 'ere?" Spike whispered, cracking his eyes open.

"Dunno," Buffy murmured back. "Last I remember, I was knocked out. Then … this."

Spike looked around. It was familiar. It was … "Bugger. We're in the old mansion on Crawford Street, luv," he said.

Buffy frowned. "How do you --"

Remember that summer when we were obsessed with ghost stories an' we decided to do a little explorin'?" Spike cut in.

"Oh." Her eyes widened with recognition.

Before either could further analyze their situation, they heard a sound at the door and scrambled to shift and face it.

The man who stepped into the room was the last person they expected to see.

"I-it can't be you," Buffy stammered. "You're dead."

He grinned, an insane grin. "What? No 'welcome home' for Daddy?"

"Hank!" Spike stared at the apparition with wide eyes. "What d'you think you're doing? Let us outta these ropes, man!"

"Sorry, William," he sneered at the name, mock apologizing, "No can do. I've waited so long to get revenge for what she did to me."

"_You're_ the one who abused _her_!" Spike yelled. "All she did was have the good sense to break free of ya!"

"Watch your mouth, boy," Hank snarled. "That bitch ruined my life by sending me to jail."

Buffy was still staring at him with disbelief. "But we held the funeral … and you were in the casket …"

Hank turned to her, his voice toned down, but still mocking and evil. "Did you ever check yourself, daughter dear?" he made the endearment sound like a curse.

"Wha-what?"

"You never saw the body in the casket," Hank answered for her. "You just trusted the Sunnydale police and morgue to get it right."

Both captives still looked uncomprehending. Hank sighed dramatically and stepped closer. Buffy instinctively flinched while Spike glowered up at him. The older man smiled, maliciously amused.

"You see, I wasn't the one driving that night. Some bum I picked up was the less drunk of the two of us, so he took the wheel. The idiot still managed to plow off the high way, though," Hank's face twisted on anger, but he continued, "I suppose my identification was lost somewhere in that car, and – the police being the lazy jackasses they are – assumed that was me." He paused, then he resumed his sinister expression once more, "I supposed that turned out better for my plan in the end, though."

"Plan?" Spike asked. Behind his back, he wiggled his fingers, continuing to pick at the knots around his hands. If he could keep Hank talking … monologue-ing must've been a requirement for all wanna-be villains.

Hank gestured around him. "This! My revenge! I promised I'd make you pay for what you did, dear," he addressed Buffy, who flinched away again.

"What are you going to do, murder us?" Spike questioned incredulously.

"No," Hank said, then added, "not before I make you suffer as much as I have."

He suddenly strode over to the two and kicked Buffy, who had curled into a ball behind Spike, unable to handle the turn of events. She cried out as he began to drag her up.

"Let her go, you bloody insane lunatic!" Spike yelled, knocking Hank's legs out from under him with his own tied feet. The blonde took the opportunity, while his captor was dazed, to free his legs (having already untied to bonds on his hands) and try to make a break for the door while holding on to Buffy.

He stopped when he heard the metallic click of a gun.

"Move, and I'll blow both of your brains out," Hank said menacingly, getting to his feet and aiming the gun at the blondes.

Then several things happened at once.

The door burst open, and policemen – including Angel – jumped in, leveling guns at Hank and yelling, "freeze, police!"

Buffy leaped in front of Spike (as best as she could with her feet still tied), with a slow-motion yell of 'nnnnooooo!' just as Hank's gun went off.

Spike watched as Buffy collapsed on the floor, bleeding. Without another thought for his own safety, he cried a war cry and attacked Hank just as the man's gun went off a second time.

Willow, who had arrived right behind Angel, screamed piercingly at the mayhem before her.

And several policemen's shots caught Hank in the back before he could do any further damage. His body jerked as each bullet entered him, and he went down.

Things quieted, and the finality of the situation hit all who were present.

It was finally over.

* * *

Any techinical mistakes made cam be blamed on my ignorance (and maybe, in part,the ignorance of the Sunnydale workforce). Feel free to point them out. :) 

This isn't the end (well, not the final end)...

le faye


	18. All That's Left of Yesterday

A/N: yay. glad it wasn't too predictable to everyone. thanks for commenting! i promise, this is the last time i'll do the name listing. next time, i'll reply to the reviews using the new system. but … KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart, Wentzie72, funkydevil206, spikegothicchick, pinkyblue-ice, General Mac, and Buffycoo999, I bake you cookies!

Disclaimer: not mine.

Rating: PG-13. Swearing, angst, violence. You have been warned …

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yay! Reviews are happy. :D

Previously: Buffy and Spike discover that their stalker-turned-kidnapper is the crazed Hank. Willow, Angel, and the Sunnydale police force arrive in time to save the day ...

* * *

Buffy woke groggily. She blinked a few times and tried to bring her arm up to rub her eyes, only to find an IV attached to it. Looking around the sterile hospital room, she noticed a dark-haired woman was a clipboard. 

The doctor, seeing Buffy shift, smiled. "Glad to see you're awake, Buffy. I'm Dr. Johnson. You gave us quite the scare for a while."

Still disoriented, she tried to sit up, and immediately noticed the pain that shot through her right shoulder. She felt the bandage wrapped around it and saw the sling her arm was in. Buffy suddenly remembered that she had been shot, and Spike had … "Where's Spike? What happened to him?" Buffy blurted out to the doctor.

Dr. Johnson frowned. "Spike? … Oh, you mean William Giles? He'll be just fine, though I think he's still sleeping. He's just a couple of rooms down the hall."

Before Buffy could respond, the door to her room flew open and a whirlwind of coltish limbs and long brunette hair flew in, unhindered by the flustered nurse who tried to block her way.

"Oh, my God! Buffy, we were _so_ worried about you!" A sobbing Dawn threw herself onto the hospital bed to hug her sister.

"Oh, Buffy! Goddess, are you ok? Well, of course you're not ok, but how do you feel? Are you going to be better? I was scared that we wouldn't get you here in time and …" Willow babbled as she, too, ignored the nurse and walked in and hovered over Buffy.

She was followed by Tara, Xander, Anya, and Giles. Xander's reaction was similar to Willow's, Giles immediately took off his glasses and began polishing them furiously, and Anya – after asking Buffy if she would be ok – set about making sure her client wasn't permanently physically scarred (and if she was, Anya wanted to be sure that a little plastic surgery could fix it).

Seeing the doctor in the room, and thinking it was a hopeless situation, the nurse had long since fled.

Tara's gaze met Buffy's helplessly. Seeing the bedridden girl's plight, she tried to get the other's attention. "Um, g-guys, I-I think we should – You guys, shouldn't we let --? Guys!"

Unused to hearing Tara raise her voice, everyone in the room froze. Dr. Johnson chose this moment to step in. "I think Ms. --" Here she looked at the now-blushing shy girl questioningly.

"J-just Tara," she supplied.

Dr. Johnson smiled. "Ok, Tara, is right. Buffy's just been through an exhausting ordeal, and you should give her a while to rest and recover."

Willow, Xander, and Dawn – looking like children who had been scolded – hung their heads and said 'sorry.' Anya and Giles also sheepishly apologized.

"But, wait, the gunshot wound …" Willow began.

"It'll be just fine," Dr. Johnson said firmly. "It passed through cleanly and didn't hit anything vital. I can assure you that with time, she'll heal, as good as new. Now, we should all leave and let Buffy get some more sleep."

"But I'm all sleeped out for now. Please, can they stay for a few minutes?" Buffy asked beseechingly.

Dr. Johnson's resolve wavered when she was hit full-force with puppy eyes from several people in the room.

"I promise, we'll stop visiting the minute Buffy feels tired," Dawn added.

"Just a few minutes," Dr. Johnson finally gave in with that warning. "I'll be in the next room of you need anything." She left and shut the door behind her.

Eagerly, Willow and Dawn plopped on Buffy's bed, while Tara, Anya, and Xander found seats and Giles stood.

"So, are you sure you're feeling ok, Buff?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, being alive pretty much overshadows everything else right now," Buffy smiled.

"We were so scared for you and Spike, Buffy," Willow reiterated.

"Yeah, half of us were stationed outside Spike's room and half of us outside yours," Dawn added. "I called Giles on the cell as soon as you woke up."

"I thought Spike was just down the hall," Buffy commented.

"The halls are longer than the Great Wall," Anya said. "And no one was willing to leave to go get the other half."

Buffy giggled.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're ok," Dawn squealed as she spontaneously hugged her sister again.

"Gee, if only you were this happy about me being around all the time.

"I'm a teenager," Dawn reasoned. "It's my job to give you a hard time.

"Speaking of ok, Willow," Giles suddenly spoke up, "you never did finished telling me how you found Buffy and Spike and rushed them to the hospital on time."

"Yeah, Wills," Buffy asked, remembering seeing the redhead at the mansion, " what did happen?"

"Well, when we were at the Bronze that night, Angel called your" – Willow looked at Buffy – "cell when you and Spike went, um …"

"Snuck off to copulate!" Anya interjected cheerfully.

Dawn was about to ask what 'copulate' meant when she saw that everyone had turned bright red and Giles was choking. She felt it best to keep quiet.

"Um, yeah, well," Willow continued. "Angel called and said that the DNA found on some of the clues matched yours or Dawn's. We thought it was impossible, but then Angel gave us this theory that Fred – Winifred, who was working on the case with him – had come up with."

Xander continued, "She noticed that you had no surviving members of your family, but the only one to be buried unidentified was your father. He had a history of violent behavior towards you and he was the only one with reason to want to hurt you."

"I'd sent him to jail," Buffy noted quietly.

"Exactly," Willow nodded.

"But how did you know where they were?" Giles asked.

"Oh! That was Fred, too," Anya stepped in. "Really, she was the only woman on the team and the only one to figure it out. I've always thought --"

"Ahem. Ahn, the story," Xander reminded her.

"Fine," Anya pouted. "So Fred realized that the Crawford mention haunting began a few days before Hank's funeral. Remember that time Angel came by your house, then left because someone on Crawford street had an issue about that old house?"

Buffy nodded.

"The family was scared because they saw and heard movements in the house," Anya explained. "And they found items missing from their house, and saw a man sneak into the old mansion. The man's description matched Hank's."

S-so, Angel was going to check out the old mansion, but W-willow insisted on going with him because she said you guys used to play games there and she knew it well," Tara took up the story. "Then, of course we all had to go."

"By then, you and Spike'd been gone sorta long – even if you were going to boink each other," Dawn wrinkled her nose at that thought and Buffy turned an interesting shade of beet again. "So we got worried when we could find either of you."

"We rushed to the mansion, and helped with the search. I swear the policemen jumped into every room yelling 'freeze, police!'" Willow rolled her eyes. "It was sorta lucky you were in an isolated room or else you'd've heard us."

By the end of the retelling, Giles had turned quite pale. "Oh, dear, I feel as if this is all my fault. If only I'd made better sure that Hank was forever incarcerated. Or, or I'd --"

"Giles, it's ok," Buffy soothed. "You didn't know what would happen."

"Well, yes, but as the oldest adult, I should --"

"There wasn't anything you could've done. Hank would have found some other way to get to us," Buffy reasoned. "So stop beating yourself up. None of us did anything wrong and it's over now."

"When did you grow up so much, Buffy?" Giles smiled. He walked over and hugged her with one arm kissing the top of her head. "I don't know what I'd lost you or Will."

Buffy smiled and hugged him back with her unharmed arm. Then she frown as she though of one last question. "What happened to Hank?"

"You didn't know?" Willow asked.

"What?"

Hank's dead. The police shot him because he was going crazy with his gun."

Buffy mourned for a moment for what might have been. But she knew that she couldn't ever change or save Hank.

"Wow. It's finally over," Dawn said.

"Yeah, Buffy agreed, "it's over."

"I dunno. Don't ya think it just seemed sorta anti-climatic?" Xander mused absently.

He suddenly grew aware of the glares being aimed at him. "Not that I'm complaining, of course," he hastily assured his friends. "I just glad that--"

"Xander, shut up and kiss me," Anya ordered, deciding it was the best was to save him from talking himself into being murdered. Her boyfriend happily complied, thankful not to have dug further into the hole he created.

The other people in the hospital room smiled at seeing the couple together.

"W-well, d-do you think we should go out and let --" Before Tara could finish, they heard a loud sound of a crash outside the door, follow by colorful cursing. Familiar, colorful cursing.

"Oh my gosh, is that Spike?" Buffy gasped. She struggled to get up.

"Wait, Buffy, he was still sleep last we checked him," Willow began.

The door banged opened, and a disheveled bleach-blonde stumbled in. An orderly, who was protesting that he wasn't well enough to be walking around, yet, followed him. The nurse outside Buffy's room had decided to give up on this lot. She stepped aside and let him in.

"Is Buffy alright?" were the first words out of his mouth.

"I'm fine," Buffy answered, glancing up from where she sat. "Spike, are you sure you should be out of bed, yet?"

"Probably shouldn't," Spike admitted, stumbling over to lie down on Buffy's bed. "Just 'ad to make sure you were alright, and to tell you that …"

"What?" Buffy asked.

"I love you," Spike mumbled, already half asleep with sedatives.

Buffy looked down at him, hand automatically with his unruly hair, with surprise and happiness. "I love you, too."

Everyone 'aww-ed' at the scene before them. Spike snuggled closer to Buffy's side and fell asleep.

* * *

wwhhhheeeeeee! one or two more chappies left ... i live off reviews ... :D

le faye


	19. You Are The Life

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Last chapter (and maybe an epilogue).

Disclaimers: Not mine.

Rating: PG-13 for language and minor violence. You have been warned ...

Pairings: B/S eventually. W/T, X/A

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yup, please.

Summary: Hank is truly dead. Buffy and Spike are recovering in the hospital. We're on our way to a happy ending …

* * *

Friday night found the gang crowded into the Summers' kitchen and living room getting ready for a movie-fest.

"Buffy, do you and Spike really have to take up the whole couch?" Dawn asked in annoyance.

The blonde barely glanced up from where she was sprawled over the couch, held by her boyfriend. She gestured to her arm that was in a sling. "Invalid, here," Buffy pointed out. "Be nice."

Dawn rolled her eyes. Since the two had been released from the hospital a few days previous, they had been milking their injuries for all it was worth. Willow and Xander were the easiest to trick into doing things for them.

"Yeah, Bit, be nice," Spike chimed in. Buffy giggled and poked him the stomach. "Ow. Watch the wound, luv."

"Aww, sorry, baby. Kiss and make better?" Buffy asked coyly. The two began another make-out fest, forgetting Dawn and her complaint. The couple had also been joined at the hip, ever since that first day in the hospital.

With another eye roll, Dawn unceremoniously pushed the pair's feet off the couch – snickering when they broke apart with surprise and Buffy grabbed for the coffee table to keep her balance – and plopped down.

Before the two blondes could retaliate much beyond jabbing the teen with their toes, Willow walked in. "That's it! We're changing our phone number," she announced.

Buffy winced. "Another reporter? Sorry Wills." Tabloids and newspapers were still beating down their door, trying to find a way to spin a dramatic story on what had happened to the semi-famous actress.

"At least they're not camped out on the front lawn anymore," Spike shuddered.

"I dunno," Buffy said mock-contemplatively, "I still say it was sorta funny how that one guy – Andrew? – got the impression that you were our gay roommate and tried to asked you out on a date."

Spike growled and buried his face into her hair. "'S not funny," he mumbled.

Buffy giggled until he lifted his head up with a pout firmly fixed in place. She stared at his lower lip, transfixed, then dove in to attack it.

Dawn stared in morbid fascination, wrinkling her nose 'eewww' before Willow dragged her off to help with the popcorn in the kitchen.

Anya wandered in, talking about book deals on her headset, pausing only long enough to tell Spike and Buffy to 'get a room' before going off again.

"Hey, guys, ready to start – oh, god, scarred for life!" Xander squished his eyes shut and tried to pretend that he hadn't seen his two best friends all but have sex on the couch.

"Hey! It's not like you and Anyanka don't do the same thing!" Spike snarked back.

"Don't call me that!" Anya yell distantly. Every since Spike discovered her dislike for her given name, he'd been teasing her about it.

"Ok, this time, we come bearing popcorn," Dawn proclaimed, holding the bowl in front of her face in case her sister and surrogate brother were stilly being 'mushy and icky.'

"Ooo, buttery goodness." Xander was easily distracted. He eagerly took the bowl from dawn and sat on the opposite couch, away from the two in case they decided to become fused at the lips again.

Willow and Tara came back in with more popcorn and cans of beer and soda.

Buffy got up to get a bowl, leaving Spike pouting before she sat back down on his lap and whispered something in his ear. Grinning insanely, he pulled her closer and they shared an Eskimo kiss before turning their attentions to the television screen.

Will and Tara settled next to Dawn on the floor with an afghan. Anya wandered in and let Xander take the headset away from her before snuggling next to him.

"Shhh, we're starting," Dawn shushed.

They settled in happily to watch the show.

OOoOo

"Buffy! You've got to get your luggage checked in now!" Anya bossed.

"Huh? Wha?" The blonde said dazedly, pulling away from Spike.

"Mmm, don't go, luv," Spike muttered, holding her.

"Have to."

"Buffy, we have to get settled in L.A. by this afternoon! I have a vital meeting I can't miss! Look at that line; we're going to miss our flight!" Anya worried.

"Xander, get in here and distract her," Spike groused, glancing around for his wayward friend.

"He can't, hon, he's parking the car," Buffy reminded. "Besides, we might never leave if he does."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Spike's eyes turned huge and puppy-like.

Buffy worried her lower lip. "No…" she conceded, "But we've" – she look at Anya, who was talking on her cell phone again – "ok, I've really ignored all my work for the last few weeks. I promise, I'll be back in Sunnydale by next week and I'll find a way to spend more time here."

"Buffy! Get in line! Now!"

"I'll be back in just a minute," she promised. Buffy ran off towards Anya and her luggage.

"Hey, Spike. What happened?" Willow asked by way of greeting. Everyone else followed closely behind her.

"They're checking in luggage," he said dourly.

"Cheer up, William, it's not the end of the world," Giles put a hand on his son's shoulder.

Spike didn't answer.

"Hey, guys," Buffy bounced towards them.

Anya followed and announced, "We're supposed to wait at the gates in case something happens or they board early."

Spike snorted. "When has that ever happened?"

Anya shrugged, unfazed and determined not to miss this flight. "We'd better go in, Buffy."

She exchanged hugs with everyone before going to say good-bye to Xander.

"Oh, I'll miss you guys," Buffy said to Willow, Dawn and Tara. "I know I'll see you next week, but you all have to come up to L.A. over the summer."

"Will do," Dawn answered, slightly teary.

"Bye, Giles," Buffy hugged him.

She then went to Spike, who was looking sulky. "Don't look like that, I'll see you next week," she protested.

She threw herself into his arms. "I'll miss you and I'll call you every night and …" she babbled on.

"It's ok, luv," Spike smiled a little, looking at her. "Just come back soon. I love you."

She nodded. "I love you, too."

They separated and Buffy hugged Xander, then turned with Anya to go through the security.

Both groups said good-bye again when the girls got through. They made faces and blew kisses at each other through the Plexiglass window until the guards began to look at them in a 'I'm considering if you're crazy and I should call for back-up' kind of way. With a last wave, the two girls disappeared down the hall to find their boarding gate.

"Aw, cheer up you two, they'll be back soon," Willow reasoned, looking at Spike and Xander.

"It'll be a long week," Spike said, depressed.

"I'm sure we can find something for you to do," Giles added, "You could help me at the shop."

"Th-here's a load of laundry and dishes that's growing mold," Tara said with an uncharacteristically wicked grin.

"And you could write my essay for me!" Dawn said, feeling chipper at the thought of ducking out on work. "Or not …" she retracted as the last suggestion earned a particularly evil glare.

"Do you think they're ok?" Xander mused. "We should called them, just to check."

Spike brightened at this suggestion. "First brilliant idea you've had in a while, mate."

"Guy's they're still in the airport," Willow reminded.

Unhindered by this fact, the two whipped out their cell phones and called their significant others.

"If we run fast enough, maybe we can leave them here and we won't have to listen to their mushy chatter all the way home," Dawn whispered loudly.

Exchanging glances, the four of them took off sprinting, giggling as their love-sick friends chased after them.

* * *

The End (except for the epilogue).

le faye


	20. Epilogue

A/N: Short, but I think that ends everything. (sniffles) Last bit, it's finally the end. Thanks to everyone who followed this story all the way through!

Disclaimers: Not mine.

Rating: PG-13 for language and minor violence. You have been warned ...

Pairings: B/S , W/T, A/X

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it. Tell me first, though.

Reviews: Yup, please.

Summary: If you don't know by now, you're just a _little bit_ lost … that's ok. All you have to know: happy ending …

* * *

_One year later …_

"Spike! Hurry up!" Buffy called out as she watched her boyfriend struggle into the airport. She looked around at the little-changed Sunnydale airport terminal where first began her journey.

"Luv, wha' did you pack in here? Bloody bricks?" The bleached blonde heaved the luggage onto one of the chairs in the waiting lounge to punctuate his question.

Buffy just laughed.

"Seriously, pet, how did you get that onto the airplane without crossing any restrictions?" Still absorbed in his rant, Spike failed to see Buffy looking at him in amusement.

She suddenly pulled him into a kiss, effectively cutting off the steady flow of words.

"I love you," she murmured as she pulled back.

Spike still eyed her, half-suspiciously. "Is this some new evil plot 'f yours? Lull me into a false sense of security, then dump even heavier bags on me --"

"No, idiot!" Buffy smacked his arm lightly.

"Well, in that case, I love you, too." Without warning, he picked her up and swung her in a circle, kissing her breathlessly.

They came apart with a sigh.

"We still have to meet up with Wills and Dawn. They're picking us up," Buffy reminded him half-heartedly.

"Red and Nibblet can wait."

"Um, hello? The airport is the worst place for finding parking. Not to mention how hard it's going to be to find Dawnie at all," Buffy pointed out. "Plus, we still have to make it to Ahn's baby shower."

Earlier that year, Xander and Anya had gotten engaged, then married. For a while, their friends worried that they might be moving too fast, but they lived together happily in Sunnydale (where Anya is possibly permanently attached to her cell phone), now expecting a baby.

Willow, Tara, and Dawn still lived in the Summers' house, although they often traveled to L.A. to spend time with Buffy – and vice versa.

Giles, still owner of the Magic Box, had become fascinated by the occult and had already published a book. He was now working on his second.

Similarly, the younger Giles' writing career was also successful. Spike and Buffy moved into a penthouse apartment together in Los Angeles, after the blonde's acting career and fame soared.

All in all, there were happy times and happy endings for everyone …

At the present moment, Spike snorted, but finally started to move. "Right, 'cause there's gonna be hell to pay if the bloody gifts she demanded don't arrive on time."

Buffy giggled. "Exactly." Then her expression turned coy. "And if you behave, I'll make it worth your while."

Spike smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Is tha' a promise?"

"Mm-hmm." Then, without warning, her mood turned playful, and she reach up and pecked his cheek. "Race ya."

"Buffy, wait!" Spike called after her as she took off. Then he sighed, realizing that she had left him with all the bags again.

* * *

The End 


End file.
